Welcome Home: Doomsday Awakening
by Arbmaster 16
Summary: It has been ten years since Nocturne's Reign and Eggman's Downfall, now the remaining Chaotix have problems that are far closer to home. They may not know it yet, but something dark and sinister has been lurking beneath them for far longer than they ever thought. Could they climb up out of this hole or simply fall further?
1. Vanish

**Hello everyone!**

 **How are you all? I know it has been a long time and I will be completely up front with you all now, I don't know how often I will be able to update due to the things I've been going through. I've already explained this on my profile just so you know. :)**

 **Despite all of that, I've been (well, _was_ ) working on this for a while, struggling massively to come up with a story line. Even now, nothing is concrete, but at least I have _some_ idea of where this would go.**

 **I thought, with some wise words from a few friends of mine, that I would upload the first chapter and see what kind of response it would get. Test the waters, so to speak.**

 **Anyway, I won't ramble on anymore and let you all read.**

 **R &R's are welcome as well as constructive criticism.**

 **As this is a sequel, I recommend that you read the previous story _'Welcome Home'_ first to get an idea of what is going on and who many of the OC's are.**

 **Right then! Have fun and I will see you when I see you!**

 **Arby xx**

* * *

 _ **Disclaimer: None of the Sonic characters belong to me. They belong to SEGA. Any and all original characters in the story belong to me.**_

* * *

They say that one's past is like a boomerang; it will always come back. You can run, hide and fight, but none of it would matter.

Why would this be an exception?

The nearest star still focuses its gaze upon the solar system it rules over. One planet in particular, is being tormented by its over-powering rays.

Mobius.

A heat wave is in full swing as the year reaches its midway point. Sand is tossed about by the torturous breeze and the sky is clear of any clouds.

* * *

 _"-It is still going strong and people are advised to keep well-hydrated and stay indoors. That is all for now."_ Said a brown and white cat before the T.V. is abruptly switched off.

"Seems like this thing won't ever leave." A bee teen spoke as he lazed upon one of the couches.

"It's only been a week. I'm sure it'll ease off and besides, it won't be long before everyone is complainin' about the freaking cold again." A large, green crocodile spoke as he did paperwork at his desk.

"You have a point. The cold is far worse than any of this." The insect agreed. "I bet Sage and Zeus are loving it." The croc chuckled.

"Yeah, and I bet Dové and Jak are having the time of their lives.' He joked. Just then, a loud banging could be heard coming from underneath the house.

"Hey, Vec. You hear that, right?" The bee smirked. Vector sighed and nodded.

"Zeus! Get out from under there!" He yelled.

"How did you hear me?!" The snake shouted in response.

"You're hardly discreet. What are you doing?" Charmy asked.

"… Looking for stuff." He said after a few seconds of silence.

"Can you do it underneath your own house? I have work to get on with!" Vector told him.

"Alright, sorry." More banging was heard as he made his way out and returned to his home, which turned out to be across the street. The snake was very curious and would often need help because he had gotten himself stuck in some random hole.

"I'm genuinely scared that he's gonna hurt himself one day." Charmy spoke, voicing his concern.

"I wouldn't worry about it, Charms. Sage is always keepin' an eye on him." Vector reassured. "Anyway, I really do have paperwork to do."

"Alright, I got the hint the first time. I'll be in my room if you drop your pen or something." The bee chuckled at Vector's annoyed look as he went up the nicely polished, wooden staircase and into the last door of three; his room.

Once the door was closed behind him, Charmy sat on his bed and thought about what he could do to pass the time. Days like these came less often, but they were still frequent enough. The bee reached his arm under his bed and pulled out a small box. It was literally just a cardboard box with a variety of stickers upon each of its sides. He placed it on his bed next to him and crossed his legs as he opened it once again, putting the lid to the side.

A sigh escaped him as he held a picture frame of Vector, himself and one other. A glare was soon upon him as he looked at the former Chaotix member with hate; a fuchsia chameleon known as Espio. He was a member and friend for many years until an incident a decade ago. After that, the reptile vanished without a trace and to this day, has not been found or sighted.

"I wonder what she would think of you now." Charmy growled quietly under his breath. "Coward." His face saddened when he remembered back to Vector telling him. A lot of his childhood was blurred, but that moment was as clear as yesterday.

 _"Arby didn't make it, kiddo."_

Charmy's body shuddered. She had given her life to save Espio, Vector and Kyousuke way back then, just for him to flee? Anger swiftly returned.

"You bastard!" He yelled, forgetting momentarily that Vector was downstairs. Right on cue, the croc knocked on his door and poked his head inside.

"Are you alright, Charms?" He looked worried and his voice sounded the same.

"I'm just remembering it all again. No need to worry, Vec." The larger reptilian sighed and knelt down next to his bed. He also looked at the picture and let out a short sigh.

"I know it's rough, pal." Vector began, but Charmy was quick to speak again.

"Just, why? She died for that asshole and what does he do? Run away without so much as a fucking goodbye?! I get that Arby's death hit him hard, but it's not as if we weren't affected either! We could've helped each other, but hey, I guess he doesn't give a shit about us." Charmy vented angrily. Vector felt a tad uncomfortable by his outburst and tried to calm him down.

"Come on, Charms. There's no need to be this upset. I'm sure Espio will come back some day and when he does, I'm sure he'll have a good explanation as to why he left." Charmy looked at him with a concerned expression.

"I feel bad for you, Vector." He stated.

"Huh? Why?" The croc questioned.

"Even after all this time, you still have as much faith in him as you did ten years ago. Haven't you stopped to think that if he cared for you the same way, he would've stayed? He didn't just leave me, he left you as well. I feel bad because I don't think you've realised that yet." Charmy explained.

"Realised what?" Vector questioned further.

"That your friendship may have been one-sided." The younger bee's words definitely hit the reptile where he didn't expect. An uncomfortable lump suddenly formed in his throat as his mind repeated Charmy's last comment.

 _"One-sided?"_ He thought with worry. Charmy could tell simply by his friend's face that those words hit a nerve in him.

"I'm sorry, but it's something that you need to think about." The bee spoke to try and bring the croc from his thoughts. "Also, who said that Espio was coming back?"

"Uh, well…" Vector tried to respond, but it was as if Charmy's words had halted him from doing anything. The bee could clearly see that his friend couldn't handle the thought too well, so quickly acted to take his mind off it.

"Anyway!" He shouted, nearly giving his boss a heart attack. "I think I'm going to go out and appreciate the sunshine. Are you still gonna do paperwork?" The teen asked. His plan seemed to work as Vector thought about what he could do on a day such as this.

"Yeah, but a walk sounds like a good idea. I'll go later once I've gotten the bulk of it sorted." They both smiled, moving on from the prior topic.

"Sounds good, Vec! I'm gonna head out. I'll see you later, yeah?" He said as he, placed the box and its contents back beneath his bed, got up and headed towards the door.

"You got it, Charms. Stay safe out there, okay?" The bee nodded before swiftly heading downstairs and out the door. The croc let out a heavy sigh as he returned to his desk. Various files and pictures of people were scattered across it. One large hand rubbed his head as no connections could be made.

 _"There has to be something."_ He thought as he glanced at each of the thirteen photos he had. _"But there isn't."_ Another sigh escaped him, something which he had been doing a lot more of since the case began.

Over the past month, people had been going missing. The Chaotix would go to every crime scene, but to their surprise, it would be completely clean of any evidence and any leads.

"Maybe that walk would do me some good. Staring at it ain't gonna solve anything." With that, Vector left his desk and headed out of the Chaotix to a hidden haven behind the house.

There was a faint pathway beneath the grass that led to a small, open area. It was covered in flowers of varying colours. This place was very special to both Vector and Charmy. It used to be Espio's meditating spot, but now it is the resting place for a former Chaotix member.

"How's it goin', Arb?" He spoke as softly as he could as he knelt down next to the tombstone. "I thought I'd come and say hi. The weather's real good today, just like the past week, but still, can't complain." Vector smiled as he spoke. There was a sense of peace whenever he came here. Charmy often felt the same. "I kinda need some advice. Ya see, people keep goin' missin', but there's no trace. Even the cops can't find a single thing. It's freaking bizarre!" The Chaotix leader began to vent, despite knowing that he wouldn't get a direct answer. Nonetheless, it still made him feel better. "You wouldn't happen to know what the hell is going on, would ya?"

Just then, a shadow loomed over the croc. His head snapped behind him, only to see no one there. Movement caught his attention above him. He soon realised that it was just the canopy of the trees moving in the warm wind.

"You actually made me jump. Ya gettin' better, Arb." He chuckled.

"I didn't think that you, of all people, could be scared of a shadow." A feminine voice spoke as she approached. Vector turned again, casually this time, to see Amy with three flowers in her hand. She sat next to Vector and placed them in front of the tombstone. One was red, the second was purple and the third was green.

"Her favourite colours. Nice touch." The croc praised.

"Thanks! I thought I'd stop by to see how things were. I didn't expect to find you up here though or to see you frightened." She giggled as she remembered seeing the croc jump just moments ago.

"Come on, Amy!" The croc complained. "Arb's just messin' with me."

"So I see, and she got you good too." Amy giggled again.

"I'll get her back one day." He joked with a playful grin.

"So, how are things? The whole reason I came up here was to see if you and Charmy were okay after all." The pink hedgehog explained. She had matured well. He quills had naturally gotten longer and now hung down to her shoulders. She still kept it short enough so that it was manageable. Her red dress was now a pink and white tank top and blue jeans that were tucked into her boots, which she had kept the same since they held a resemblance to Sonic's sneakers. Many were baffled as to how she still fit in them.

"Well, I'm gettin' nowhere with this missing persons case. That's my biggest concern right now." Vector told her.

"Oh yeah, that's everywhere. It's like they just vanish into thin air. Those poor people." The croc began to think about it again. He zoned out as his eyes watched the moving shadow of the canopy.

 _"Into thin air…"_ A thought came to him, a dark one, which he had to inform the others about.

"Uh, I have to go!" He said suddenly as he rushed back to the Chaotix, nearly tripping over as he did so.

"Vector, wait!" Amy shouted, but the croc was not letting this opportunity pass him by.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, and the entirety of the Chaotix were sat in the main living room, minus Charmy who was still out and Kyousuke who had recently gone on vacation.

Jak, Sage, Dové and Angel were sat on the couches, while Zeus was curled up comfortably within the conical lampshade of the ceiling light.

"How did you get up there?" Sage asked. "And how is it holding your weight?"

"I don't think about that stuff. I just sit wherever." Zeus announced as his head dangled down.

"Moving on, what's this huge thing that you needed to tell us?" Dové spoke very seriously, which was understandable. The wolf had been just as stressed out as Vector. Being a father, he was terrified that the being behind the disappearances would take Angel. However, Nocturne's Reign was still firmly in the back of his mind. He may have kept it quiet, but it had affected him badly.

"Alright look, all these disappearances have one thing in common: there is no evidence, right?" Everyone nodded. "Think about it, they're vanishing 'into thin air', as Amy put it. Who do you know that can go from one place to another without leaving a trace?" The five of them glanced at one another, but couldn't think of anyone.

"We have no idea, Vector." Jak stated bluntly. The croc rolled his eyes.

"Shadow!" He shouted a little too loudly.

"What?!" They all gasped in unison.

"Please tell me you're kidding?" Zeus asked with nervousness clear in his voice.

"Vector, I can see why you'd point the finger at him, but he hasn't been seen since… you know." Jak's voice lowered. He could feel Dové's eyes burning into the back of his head.

"I get that it's a long shot, but it makes sense, doesn't it?" A few of them shrugged, but they all said nothing. Vector continued. "Think about it, he can just Chaos Control wherever he pleases! He would simply Chaos Control in, grab his unsuspecting victim, and then Chaos Control out! He would only be there for a second and no one would have a clue!"

"You don't have to yell." Angel spoke. "But why would Shadow come back just to kidnap people?"

"Maybe he's lost his mind?" Sage suggested, earning himself several weird looks. "I don't know, a lot can happen in ten years."

"It's a possibility." Zeus added. "He may have been the 'grand master of the living' or whatever it was, but he's just as likely to deteriorate as the rest of us, if not, more so because of everything he's been through."

"I think the term is 'Ultimate Lifeform'." Jak corrected the snake hanging from the ceiling.

"Really? Well, I was close enough." Zeus concluded.

"So, what do you think?" Vector spoke, stopping the others from getting distracted.

"I mean, it's the only 'lead' we have." Angel told them.

"But even if it is him…" Dové began to question. "… How on Mobius are we going to find him?" Everyone went quiet. The wolf male had a good point. Shadow, even on a good day, was painfully difficult to find. If he is the culprit, how were they going to locate him when he's hiding from the law?

"Let's start small. If we all search the city, each of us covering different areas, then we may find something." Jak suggested. The others agreed. It wasn't much to go on, but with nothing else, it was all they had.

"Sitting on our asses ain't an option!" Vector spoke confidently. "Let's get out there and do what we do best!"

"You got it, boss." Angel finished until her father intervened.

"Hey, who said you were going anywhere?"

"Dad, I know you worry, but would you really want me home alone while you're all out searching? Besides, we're all at an equal risk no matter where we are." The younger wolf told him.

"The kid's smart." Sage commented, earning a quick glare from Dové. Regardless, his expression softened and he reluctantly agreed.

"Alright, but you're staying with me. Do you understand?" His daughter nodded before she looked back to Vector.

"So, when are we going?" She asked.

"We could leave this evening, which gives us the rest of the day to get ready. I also need to explain things to Charmy when he gets back." The croc told them.

"Alright, give us a shout when you're all set. We'll be ready." Jak announced.

The Husky was the first to leave with the others following him, leaving Vector alone to plan for the search.

* * *

Meanwhile at the Rabbit residents, Charmy had his face buried into a pillow while Cream was lying on the bed next to him. A window was to the left of the bed, which allowed the sun to shine brightly through, keeping the entire room comfortably warm.

Cream was 16 now, just as Charmy was and had also matured well. She now wore a pale blue t-shirt with black jeans and white sneakers. Cheese, who was currently asleep in his little bed in the corner, had also changed in appearance with his blue now leaning towards white.

"So, what would you do?" The rabbit teen asked. "If he were to just show up again at Chaotix, what would you honestly do?" A groan escaped the bee before he turned himself over and stared at the ceiling.

"To tell you the truth, I'd do everything in my power to make him suffer." Charmy answered. His response was certainly darker than what Cream was expecting. His hatred towards the chameleon must have been far stronger that she had ever thought.

"What? You mean, kill him?" She questioned.

"He doesn't deserve that." Cream smiled, but then bit her lip with worry at Charmy's next comment. "He deserves to live through the pain that I will throw at him. He deserves to know the pain he abandoned us with. I'll make damn sure he knows about it."

"Ch-Charmy…" Cream stuttered, snapping the bee from his violent thoughts.

"Sorry, I tend to get a bit carried away. I didn't mean to scare you." He reassured with a smile.

"It's okay. The only thing I don't get is these dreams you've been telling me about."

"I came to the conclusion that it must be a phase. I've been hearing his name a lot recently, it makes sense that he'd pop up while I'm sleeping." The bee tossed the thought aside, but Cream wasn't so sure.

"Really?" She asked simply.

"I'm not just going to jump to conclusions. If they continue, then I'll pay more attention to them, but for now, they mean nothing." He finished before placing his hands behind his head and closing his eyes.

"Okay, but if you do have more, you'll tell me, right?" Charmy slowly turned his head and gave her a puzzled expression.

"You used to be innocent." He said.

"So did you." She replied with a smirk.


	2. Breaking Out

**GREETINGS HUMANS!**

 **Okay, so I'm not well, heheh. I haven't had a good nights sleep in two days. LIFE IS GREAT!**

 **On a nicer note, Chapter 2 exists! I'm sorry, my mind is all over the place. I shall leave you to it. *Sips tea awkwardly***

 **Have a good week and HAPPY SUMMER! YEAH!**

 **Arby xx**

* * *

Later that evening, the Chaotix members, this time with Charmy, were all sat in the living room deciding who should go where. Vector had a map laid out on the table in the middle that everyone was currently looking over.

"Jak, Dové and Angel. Since there's three of you, how about you search the city centre and the surrounding areas?" Vector asked.

"Not a problem." Jak spoke for them.

"Sage and Zeus. Do you think you can handle the coast where all those rich people live?" Vector spoke to the reptilian duo.

"Sure thing. Although, I am not taking responsibility for anything Zeus does." The chameleon spoke with his hands in the air.

"I'm not _that_ bad." The snake protested.

"You really are." Charmy told him with a chuckle.

"Alright, alright." Vector said with his voice raised slightly. "Charmy, you and I got the inland districts."

"Are you sure you'll be alright? That's the most dangerous part of the city." Dové asked, letting his fatherly instinct show.

"We can handle ourselves. Don't worry." Charmy replied with a smile and a nod.

"That settles it then. We should all meet back here when we're done." The Husky announced.

"I agree. Good luck, everyone." Vector finished before they all set off to their respective areas.

* * *

The pair walked along the eerily quiet streets. Lamps flickered and distant shouts echoed.

"This place is really creepy." Charmy said, pointing out the obvious. "Can we go now?"

"We can't, Charms. There has to be something here." Vector told him.

"How do you know? If Shadow's smart enough to cover his tracks, then why would there be anything in this hell-hole?" Charmy questioned with annoyance. However, this got Vector to think.

"Because he lived around here, right? If we can find his place, then maybe we can shed some light onto this mess." Charmy sighed, knowing Vector wouldn't be convinced otherwise.

"Alright, fine. Follow me." The bee instructed him.

"Wait, how do you know where it is?" The Chaotix leader asked.

"Uh…" Charmy paused. "… I just do. Come on." Vector groaned, but followed nonetheless.

After what Vector considered to be 'too many flights of stairs', Charmy led him to the farthest door in the corridor; Shadow's door. The building itself was a wreck since nobody bothered with taking care of anything, but the Ultimate Lifeform's apartment was the complete opposite.

It still looked vaguely similar, aside from every window being smashed and everything being stolen or damaged beyond repair. The once dark red carpet still ran throughout the apartment and the rooms were still in the same place.

"Okay, I'll look through Shadow's room and you can look everywhere else." Charmy told him.

"Hold it, who said you get to go in there? I don't remember you being the leader." Vector complained.

"Vec, I'm not just being an ass. Shadow, believe it or not, is really good at hiding things and I, believe it or not, am really good at finding things." Charmy just stood with the creepiest smile until the large croc gave in.

"Alright, just stop doing that." Vector begged, earning himself a chuckle before the bee went into the other room. The croc simply shook his head before looking around the rest of the apartment.

It was fairly bare considering that it's been unoccupied for about a decade. The once sleek, white wallpaper was now torn, dirty and half-falling off the walls. The carpet was heavily stained in Chaos-knows what. There was no power or water here anymore and if you listened hard enough, rats could be heard in the walls.

"It's gonna be a dull night." Vector thought aloud.

In Shadow's old room, Charmy was inspecting every inch for some kind of secret. It was in no better shape than the rest of the apartment, but he knew the hedgehog was clever.

" _If I was Shadow, where would I hide my stuff?"_ He thought with his hand upon his chin. His wandering golden eyes studied the half-collapsed bookcase by the door. There was nothing out of the ordinary, but that didn't stop him from diving right in and checking it out.

"Ow!" He yelped.

"Charmy? Are you okay?" Vector called from the other room.

"Yeah, just this bookcase giving me a nice pat on the back." He replied, moving the plank of wood that landed on his spine. "Jerk." He spoke to the wooden plank before tossing it aside. Once clearing through the debris, Charmy found exactly what he wasn't expecting; nothing. "Oh, come on!" He vented. Suddenly, the door to the room opened and the silhouette of a large head peered round.

"Found anything?" The croc asked. Charmy huffed, he didn't want just leave empty-handed.

"There has to be something!" The bee shouted.

"If there was something here, wouldn't it have been stolen by now?" Vector suggested.

"Just gimme like, five more minutes, okay?" Vector sighed, but agreed and left the teen alone once again. "Come on, Charmy. Think!" He ordered himself, but he soon slumped against the wall and slid down to the floor. His head fell back and connected with the filthy wall behind him, making an odd noise as it did so. "Huh?" Charmy turned himself around and knocked lightly on the wall.

" _Could it be?"_ He knocked on the wall again, harder this time. It was hollow! Without making too much noise, he grabbed an already peeled corner of the wallpaper and began to take it off completely. Behind it, there was indeed a spot that had been hollowed out to make room for something. Unfortunately, whatever that 'something' was, wasn't there now. A long, drawn-out sigh escaped the bee as he stepped out from the mess and approached one of the two broken windows.

"I really thought I was on to something there." He spoke sadly, feeling as if he had let himself, Vector and the rest of the Chaotix down. A pounding from the street below forced the insect out of his thoughts. He tried to lean out to see what it was, being careful of the sharp pieces of glass that were still attached to the frame. What he didn't know, was that Vector was doing the same thing in the main room. He could also hear the pounding and wanted to know its source.

Suddenly, a roar echoed throughout the city. It was a roar that neither of them had ever heard and it was completely alien to them. Chills went down the bee's spine as it repeated over and over again in his mind. He silently gulped as the pounding faded until it could no longer be heard.

"W-what the hell was that?" Charmy wondered. It certainly wasn't human or Mobian, but then, what was it? Not wanting to be on his own any longer, the bee went into the other room to find Vector still looking out of the window. The croc soon turned to see a very anxious looking Charmy stood nearby.

"I'm just as confused as you are, pal. I think we should get back. I _really_ don't want to run into whatever that was." Vector told him, covering his anxiety a little better than his younger friend.

"I agree. Let's just go. There's nothing here anyway." The duo quietly left the building, but as soon as they were on the street, they bolted for it, too afraid to turn back in case the darkness revealed something that they didn't want to see.

Neither of them had any idea as to how long it took, but they barged through the front door, giving everyone inside a heart attack. Once through, Vector slammed the door shut and leaned against it. By instinct, everyone had gotten into a fighting stance, waiting for something to try and break in. Angel was the only one to stop and question.

"What on Mobius is going on?" She asked with irritation in her voice, likely after being frightened.

"Did you guys not hear it?" Charmy asked in return.

"Hear what?" Jak questioned.

"It was some sort of roar. I've never heard anything like it. It was freaking terrifying!" Vector exclaimed.

"Yeah!" Charmy joined in. "We were at Shadow's old apartment when we heard it. Then we fled back here, but I don't think it followed. Thank Chaos."

"We didn't hear anything like what you described." Dové spoke, being a tad on edge. "What about you two?" He asked, focusing on Sage and Zeus.

"Nope. We didn't hear anything out of the ordinary." Zeus told them with Sage shaking his head.

"Darn it." Vector cursed. "It doesn't matter. There is something loose in the city, something… unnatural. I want you all to be extra careful. Whatever it was, it did not sound friendly in the slightest."

"Uh, sure thing, Vec. We'll keep our eyes and ears open." Jak spoke. "Right?" The rest of the group nodded in agreement. "So, now that that's out of the way." The Husky male continued. "Did anyone find anything?"

"We looked everywhere, and I mean, everywhere." Sage spoke rather dramatically as he waved his arms around, even his prehensile tail seemed to have a little dance going on. "Neither of us could find anything, sorry."

"Okay, what about you two? Aside from the disembodied roar, did you find anything?"

"I found a secret compartment in Shadow's room, but whatever used to be there isn't anymore. Otherwise, nothing at all." Charmy explained sadly. Vector too, shook his head.

"That makes all of us then, seeing as we didn't find a thing either." Jak told the group.

"That sucks." Zeus complained.

"No one said detective work was easy. We'll just have to think of something else, but not until tomorrow." Vector spoke with a softer voice. The night may have been a waste for the case, but the croc was very proud of them for all banding together and getting to work. It reminded him of the days when Mighty and Ray were still around and when Knuckles was their leader… and when Espio was still his best friend.

" _Good times."_ He thought as his stomach began to sink.

"Thanks you guys. We may not have found a thing, but we really are grateful for the work you put in." Charmy praised, seeing as though Vector was deep in thought.

"Don't worry about it. We're a team, right?" Angel reminded them with a smile.

"Yeah! Now you all go and get some good rest. Hopefully tomorrow will be a bit kinder to us." Vector told them, who was now back with the conversation. They each said their goodnights before returning to their home across the street, leaving just Charmy and the croc himself. Once the door was closed, the bee rushed towards it and locked it.

"Can we please board up the windows?" He begged with a fearful expression.

"Hold on, we need to think about this." Vector reasoned, hoping to calm the frightful bee.

"Think about what?! There's a freaking monster out there, Vec! We need to defend ourselves!" Before the teen could move, Vector grabbed him by the shoulders and forced him to look into his eyes.

"Take it easy! I know you're scared, but what we heard was on the other side of the city. It was nowhere near us and if it did, for some reason, decide to come over here, I think we'd here it long before it got close, okay?" The bee nodded slowly within his grip. "For now though, you need to rest and so do I. I'll see you in the morning, alright?"

"Yeah, okay. Thanks, Vector. Goodnight." Charmy seemed to rush to his room before very carefully closing the door. Vector made sure that every door and window was locked before turning out the lights and heading to his own room to sleep.

* * *

Sand parted beneath their feet. Each step was filled with a mix of determination and anxiety. The duo ventured across the sands, both hoping to not come across the site that brought them together to begin with. Each of them was armed with various weapons. The first, focused more on firearms while the second, stuck to his blades.

"I can sense your nerves." The first spoke. His voice was deep, calm and could've been mistaken for monotone. He turned to face him. Two rubies meeting with two golden orbs.

"You at least know why I am nervous, yes?" The second spoke with an edge. He did not want to be here at all, but circumstances had forced him to stay by the other's side.

"Still not over that then, no?" He instantly received a glare. "My apologies. I didn't think that it was still a touchy subject."

"I do not wear this bandanna without reason." The second one growled. "I understand that Rouge's death still sits faintly in your mind. Take it out on me if you must, but do not, and I repeat, do not, take it out on someone who is no longer around."

"I'm not taking it out on you; it simply bothers me still that Rouge was needlessly murdered." The first one explained.

"And Arby wasn't?" He flinched. Just saying her name hurt. The other male could see the pain in his eyes and gently took his hand within his own.

"Perhaps leaving was a mistake." His voice had softened, which caught the other one by surprised.

"What do you mean?"

"I didn't just take you away because you asked me to, I wanted to help you move on, I wanted to make you happy. I haven't done that, have I?" The second one gave him a saddened look and gripped his hand in return.

"We came here for a reason, despite our past. For everyone's sake, we have to see this through. Do you think we can do that?" He asked.

"We don't have a choice. We have to stop it, no matter what the cost." They both nodded and hurried their way across the desert.

* * *

 _The Next Morning…_

* * *

It was no surprise that today was going to be another scorcher, but something else was in store for the Chaotix Crew.

The head honcho was up a little later that morning, which was to be expected since it was closing in on 4am by the time he had gone to bed. Charmy was still fast asleep when someone began violently knocking on the front door.

"Could you be any louder?!" The croc shouted as he got up from his desk.

"Vector! Open up! It's urgent!" Hearing Jak's voice on the other side certainly upped the reptilian's pace. He sounded panicked, but why? With haste, he unlocked the door and opened it, allowing Jak to run inside. Once the door was closed, he turned to him with a worried expression, but didn't have time to speak as Jak went on. "Turn on the news channel, Vec! You aren't gonna believe this."

He did as he was told and what the screen showed them sent his jaw to the floor. A well-dressed Raven was reading the report, but behind him was a picture of something that Vector could only describe as 'not of this world'.

"W-what is that?" He stuttered.

"No one has a clue, but I'm willing to bet money that the roar you heard last night came from that thing." Jak spoke with a consistent tone of concern. Vector knew that the others must have been just as worried.

"Do you know where it came from?" The croc eventually asked once his mind had recovered a little.

"No, but it's ridiculously strong. There's a gaping hole in one of the roads. People think that it's using the tunnels to get around, which would explain how we had no idea about it." The Husky explained.

"Wait, how long has this thing been around?" Vector questioned with uprising panic. Jak could only shrug. With so little information, it was hard to decide on the best way to act.

"What the fuck is that?!" A voice yelled from the top of the stairs.

"Charmy! Language!" Vector shouted at him.

"Vector! What is that?!" He repeated. Both his voice and his face conveyed panic.

"Charms, we don't know. This is the first time any of us have seen it." Vector told him. The bee flew down the stairs and held on to Vector's arm.

"Oh sweet Chaos! We're gonna die, we're gonna die, we're gonna-"

"Charmy!" The croc shouted once more as he grabbed him by the shoulders just as he did the night before. "We're all just as confused as you are, but you overreacting to it really isn't helping! Just get a hold of yourself, we'll figure it all out and make it through this, you got it?" The bee nodded and went to sit down.

"Uh, Vec? What are we going to do?" Jak asked nervously.

"We've got no other options." The croc told him. "We have to go underground."


	3. For Granted

**Hello everyone!**

 **I am so tired. My sleeping pattern is... less than convenient and my insomnia doesn't help.**

 **Moving on, there's a detail in this story I've changed. I thought it was something small, but with the HUGE amount of editing I've had to do, it seems that it wasn't the case. The next few chapters will be no different. That's what I get for trying to keep on top of things. As a result, chapters may be slower. Then again, there was no concrete schedule to begin with.**

 **This chapter is a bit smaller than usual because of this as well. But that made me think: would you prefer shorter chapters, longer chapters or just keep them the same as much as possible? (Usual word count is anywhere between 2600-3000 words). feel free to let me know.**

 **Other than that, there's nothing else to say.**

 **Enjoy and I'll see you all soon!**

 **Arby xx**

* * *

"It is just as I feared." A feminine voice spoke.

"Huh? What are you talking about?" A male replied.

"I told you that I did not know when this would occur. My fear was that it would happen sooner than anticipated, which is exactly the case now." She told him.

"What?! We're too late?"

"Too late to stop them escaping, yes, but not too late to stop the aftermath." She explained. "Hedgehog, you and your companion must go. There is no more time." Before he could reply, his eyes shot open.

They had both taken shelter beneath a huge chunk of metal that was sticking up from the sand. The duo was exhausted from travelling all day and chose to rest before reaching the city. Shadow looked to his side to see Espio peacefully curled up next to him. A small smile tugged at the side of his lips, until he remembered that they both had to get through another day. Secretly, he hoped they were still together by the end of it.

Quickly remembering his dream, he gently shook the chameleon by the shoulder to wake him. The other male grunted before opening his eyes and looking up.

"Shadow?" He groaned, still feeling a bit out of it. The hedgehog gave him a quick kiss on the lips before getting to his feet.

"I'm sorry, Es. We have to get going." Shadow's sudden urgency was enough to tell the chameleon that something was wrong.

"You had another dream, didn't you?" The black mammal stopped and explained.

"Yes, it seems that we didn't have the amount of time that we thought we had." Shadow told him.

"I don't quite understand. What did Tikal say to you?" Espio asked.

"She told me that they've already escaped."

"What?!" The chameleon exclaimed.

"However, we can still stop them from complete annihilation. We just couldn't stop them from getting out." Shadow told him with a sigh. "But we need to go. Now."

"Understood. Have you got everything?" The chameleon questioned. Shadow checked each of his weapons to ensure they were fully loaded. He nodded once he was ready. "You'd better lead the way."

"Agreed, none of those fuckers are getting their filthy hands on you. Stay behind me."

" _Good to know you're still protective."_ Espio thought with a smile as they set off towards the city.

* * *

"I cannot believe we're doing this." Dové spoke as the realisation of their actions hit him. He, as well as Jak and Vector, had just climbed down a ladder into the underground tunnels.

"I can, but I wish we had some kind of weapon to defend ourselves with." Jak replied.

"I really don't like the thought of guns, but having one would also make me feel a little better." Vector admitted. "Anyway, we need to keep our guard up. Who knows what the heck could be down here."

"Let's just get this over with. We can get out of here quicker then." The wolf concluded as he followed behind the other two.

The tunnels were rebuilt after Nocturne's Reign, but 10 years had passed since then and they certainly weren't in peak condition now. Walls were cracked and Chaos knows what was dripping from some of them. The concrete path which they walked upon was uneven and broken in some areas, forcing them to jump across gaps from time to time. At least the atmosphere wasn't stained green, but it was horribly dark, even with a flashlight.

"What was that?" Jak whispered as a screech echoed from the distant tunnels.

"Vector, I'm _really_ not liking this." Dové's body was tense, as was everybody else's.

"We can't just leave. We've barely started." The croc replied.

"Fine, but if I see one clawed hand or one glowing eye, then I am gone." The wolf stated.

"You wouldn't be the only one." Jak agreed.

"Just keep your eyes open. If anyone sees anything, then let the rest of us know, yeah?"

They continued beneath the city for a while with nothing out of place, but none of them would dare to get comfortable. Sudden pounding could be heard, which frightened Vector more than the other two.

"You hear that?" Jak asked. Dové nodded while Vector was completely frozen. It was undoubtedly getting louder, but no one could see anything approaching them.

"Where is it coming from?!" The wolf whispered angrily.

"Why are you asking me?!" Jak whispered back in a similar tone. While the two were arguing, Vector paid close attention to the noises. He knew they were getting closer and with enough time, he knew where they were coming from.

"Uh, boys?" He whispered, getting their attention. "Which way did we come from?" Jak and Dové gave each other a momentary glance before answering.

"That way." Jak said whilst pointing to the tunnel behind them. "Why?" The croc slowly looked up to the concrete ceiling above them, prompting the other two to do the same.

"Oh shit." Jak cursed.

"RUN!" Vector yelled as they all began sprinting back the way they came. Just mere seconds later, and the beast came crashing through to give chase.

"How fast is that thing?!" Dové panicked, seeing the creature quickly closing the gap between them.

" _Don't look behind you. Don't look behind you. Don't look behind you."_ Vector repeated in his head as he tried to keep up with the other two. Jak caught sight of this and informed the wolf who was running just ahead of him.

"Dové! We need to do something or Vector is done for!" Dové glanced behind him to see that Vector was in very serious danger.

"We need to slow it down! But how?!"

"We could climb its arms to get to its eye!" Jak suggested.

"It's all we've got! Let's go!"

To Vector's horror, the two canines stopped in their tracks, turned completely around and charged.

"Get out of here! We'll cover you!" Dové shouted as he ran past.

"No! Don't!" Vector yelled in return, but he couldn't stop them. He watched helplessly as the pair dug their claws into the muscles of the creature's over-sized arms. Their agility was remarkable as the beast swung around madly.

"Hang on, Jak!" Dové shouted to his friend. They both kept climbing, digging their claws as deep as they could so they didn't fall. Jak was the first to reach the shoulder and was even about to reach the eye, until a layer of flesh quickly covered it.

"Give me a break!" He yelled with frustration. In his moment of anger, the creature used its other arm to grab the Husky and throw him hard down the tunnel. He was out of sight in seconds due to the darkness.

"JAK!" Dové and Vector both cried. The wolf soon became enraged as he clamped his jaws down on what he thought was the beast's neck, though it was hard to tell due to the amount of muscle. It roared the same roar that had paralyzed the two Chaotix members back at Shadow's old apartment before flailing wildly. Dové was being swung around violently like a rag doll, but refused to let go.

During all of this, Vector was quick to notice the tunnels beginning to collapse thanks to the creature's movements.

"Dové! The tunnels!" He warned. The wolf forced his anger aside as soon as he saw what was happening and leapt off of the beast. The duo began to run.

It wasn't too long before they found Jak completely unconscious. Upon seeing his friend, Dové quickly picked him up and threw him over his shoulder in one, smooth movement.

"Keep running! We're gonna get out of this!" Dové encouraged, realising that it must've been difficult for the croc to keep up this pace. He was more of a swimmer than a runner, that's what his body was designed for.

"I'm not… one to… give up… so easily." The Chaotix leader panted, forcing the burning of muscle to the back of his mind. He didn't think that they had gone that far underground, but after a good five minutes of endless sprinting, the reptile began to think otherwise.

Dové was just ahead of him, leading the way still with the Husky on his shoulder. The creature was relentless and simply would not stop its pursuit. What was this thing? Why was it so aggressive? How did it get down here to begin with? All these questions and more were filling Vector's head until natural light could be seen as they turned right.

"Over there! Come on!" Dové shouted as determination caused them both to run faster. Not even thirty seconds later, and the duo were home free… almost. The beast was still chasing them. Thankfully however, the tunnels finally stopped it in its tracks as solid concrete came crashing down upon it.

The wolf couldn't stop staring at it as he regained his breath. Vector however, wasted no time in lying down on the sidewalk and thanking Chaos that they had made it. The surrounding crowd were just as curious as they gathered near the scruffy mammal, asking all sorts of questions and muttering amongst each other.

Not so long after that, news crews were all over the scene, many of which were trying to get an interview with either of the conscious Chaotix. Neither however, agreed to it, partially because they were too exhausted, but mainly because they had no idea what to say. How do you explain some unnatural beast trying to kill you?

Suddenly, everyone looked up in unison as a loud roar made itself obvious. Several more choppers flew in, but they certainly weren't from any media outlet.

They were G.U.N. and they were armed.

"Step away from the area!" A soldier ordered through a megaphone whilst on board the aircraft. "You have two minutes to leave or we will have to use force!"

"I'm not about to argue. You alright, Vector?" Dové asked.

"I think so. We should head back and let Jak recover. He's gonna ache when he wakes up." The croc chuckled.

"Him? What about us?" The wolf complained with a grin.

"We can stay in bed for once and have the others bring us food." Vector laughed hard while the wolf gave him a weird look. Dové wasn't lazy. He liked to be up and doing something. His boss however, was the opposite. He had no idea how Charmy got him up every morning.

* * *

The walk back was a tad more dramatic than either of them expected. Apparently, news of the incident spread fast and G.U.N. were not happy. They had been questioning everyone that had witnessed the incident. They took it so seriously that if anyone seemed even the slightest bit suspicious, they would arrest them on the spot. This concerned the Chaotix greatly. They were arresting people who had only _seen_ it from above. Vector, Jak and Dové were directly involved, even if it was by accident. Chaos knows what they would do to them.

The moment they returned, Vector was tackled by a terrified bee, thinking that he had been caught beneath the streets when the tunnels collapsed. Dové nearly had the same fate until Angel noticed Jak on his shoulder.

"Is he alright?" She asked with a clear amount of concern which quickly spread across the room.

"It's nothing serious. He may ache a bit and have a headache, but he'll be fine." Dové explained as he rested the Husky on the couch.

"Thank Chaos." Sage spoke as he let out a sigh. "But now what? G.U.N. is less than pleased with what happened today." He reminded them.

"What are they gonna do?" Zeus asked, being as curious as ever. "Do you think they'll look for you guys? And if they did, what the heck would they do to you?"

"Easy on the questions, Scales." Vector spoke whilst rubbing his temples. "It's been a weird-ass day as it is."

"He brings up a good point." Dové spoke, defending the chameleon. "We need to think about what comes next. G.U.N. isn't going to just let us walk free and sooner or later, they're going to be smashing through the door. We need to act, sooner rather than later." The wolf was very serious judging by the look on his face, which only made everyone else anxious.

"You mean attack them?" Zeus asked. Dové shook his head.

"We wouldn't stand a chance. I mean hide." He earned himself a few shocked faces, except for Vector who simply looked confused.

"How? Where? And why? G.U.N. know this city inside and out and besides, they're not going to hurt us. They help 'keep the peace' around here, right? One other thing, we have a detective agency to run! We can't just up and leave! I certainly won't anyway!" Vector argued with points that were very true, but the others were leaning towards the wolf for safety's sake. Apparently, Vector was a little 'in the dark' when it came to what G.U.N. acted like when things got out of hand.

They planned to discuss the situation for the rest of the night and set off the next morning, much to Vector's annoyance. However, the military had other plans. Several soldiers came knocking angrily at the door demanding that they see Vector and Dové. Each of them had a weapon.

Zeus and Sage were clearly the most nervous, while the others kept a level head, or at least covered up what they were really feeling.

"Okay, grab your backpacks. We don't have time to pack anything else. We have to go." Dové ordered, taking command of the Chaotix. He expected the head honcho to argue, but he didn't say a word and just did as he was told, clearly unhappy with the situation. He wasn't the only one.

As quietly as they could, each of them crept out of the back door and ran. They had no destination and they truthfully didn't know where they were going. They just had to get away while they still could.


	4. Beneath Your Feet

**Hello everyone!**

 **How're you all?**

 **I've had a rough week (what else is new?). My pet fish, Jak, unfortunately passed away a couple of days ago. I've had that fish for years. Naturally, I got used to the filter that hummed 24/7, even to the point of it helping me sleep. But now, since he was the last fish, the filter is off and it's hauntingly silent in here. I know that some of you won't think of this as a big deal, but I care greatly for all animals. So, having them pass away hits me pretty hard, no matter what kind of animal it is.**

 **Rest in peace, Jak. xx**

 **Moving on, the other two are fine, so no worries there.**

 **I quite enjoyed writing this chapter for some reason. Not that I dislike writing them, it can just be hard sometimes. This one just seemed to come to me as I edited it. I can only hope the next one will be the same way.**

 **Anyway, here you go. Have fun and I'll see you soon!**

 **Arby xx**

* * *

Shadow took him to the only place he could think of where they wouldn't be found; his old apartment.

"You should take it easy on your Chaos powers. We might need them." Espio warned once they were in the bare living room.

"I will use them to get us to G.U.N., after that, we're on our own." Shadow told him as if his powers were some other being. "Unless it's some kind of emergency." He added.

"What do we do once we get there? The majority of the guards probably have no idea of what's going on." Espio questioned with concern.

"I imagine the 'higher-ups' will be the ones in the know. Sick bastards." The hedgehog spat as both his fists tightened.

"What I do not understand is the reason behind it. What do they want with them? Why go to such lengths just to trap them underground?" The chameleon asked.

"My best guess would be that none of them came out the way they wanted to. You saw that one. Its arms alone dwarfed the rest of its body and it had clearly gone mad. Its legs were so disfigured that I had no idea they were legs to begin with and that's just scratching the surface." Shadow shuddered noticeably. "I'm dreading the thought of what they're keeping down there." Espio placed a hand upon his shoulder.

"Likewise." He admitted. "Back to my original question, what do we do?" The hedgehog thought hard about their plan of action. Shadow had the firearms and Espio had the swords and ninja gear. They both had their strengths, but the element of surprise and stealth were going to be huge advantages.

"That creature escaped from underground, yes?" Shadow asked.

"I would assume so, since no one had a clue about it until yesterday." Espio told him.

"I suggest that we go in the way that thing got out." The chameleon agreed that heading underground would be the safest way. However, he was quick to point out a flaw.

"That would be good, except for the fact that G.U.N. would be all over that by now. They've probably got their best soldiers guarding it." He explained.

"That's true, but they'll also be soldiers that know what's going on and are helping to hide their dirty, little secret. They are the kind of people that deserve nothing more than slaughter." Espio flinched at the thought. He was not a killer by any means, but this was ultimately for the greater good, right? "They're not innocent, Es." Shadow spoke again, as if reading his mind. "They are helping them and would gladly kill us. Yes, we'll be ending lives, but we'll be ending all of this as well, one disgusting human at a time." The reptile thought back to Vector and Charmy. What if they were hurt? He couldn't just stand there and let it continue, for everyone's sake, not just the Chaotix.

"You're right. I know you're right." Espio spoke, with a deep sigh following afterwards. Shadow could tell that a lot was on his mind. A lot was happening, it was understandable. A silence lasted, which made the hedgehog a little uncomfortable.

"You can rest here a little, if you like. However, we should get going as soon as we can." Shadow said before leaning against the edge of one of the broken windows. Espio simply nodded before sitting on the floor to try and meditate.

" _This place is a wreck."_ Shadow thought with annoyance, but he didn't expect anything less. This was the most dangerous part of the city, after all.

Allowing his companion some time to himself, Shadow looked around in case, by some miracle, that the map he had of G.U.N. was still lying around.

Espio opened one eye when he heard the hedgehog moving things. He kept his gaze on him as he dug around his ruined kitchen, but chose not to ask.

"Hmph, what are the chances?" Shadow smirked as he pulled out what appeared to be a big piece of paper.

"Shadow?" Espio questioned, wondering what exactly he had found. The Ultimate Lifeform approached and sat down next to him, crossing his legs the same way Espio had. He rolled out the piece of paper on the floor in front of them.

"This is a detailed map of G.U.N., minus the secret underground level." He pointed to the road leading into the facility. "You can see that the sewer tunnels also lead beneath it. If necessary, I can Chaos Blast a way inside."

"That would be noisy though." Espio quickly informed him.

"I know, but we're armed and ready, should we run into trouble." Shadow reminded the ninja.

"Then it's settled. We should get going, before I change my mind again." The chameleon told him.

"Understood." Shadow hid the map back where he found it, which was in one of the cabinets, hidden behind a panel of wood. Once done, he returned to Espio with his emerald and teleported out of the apartment.

* * *

"Oh! It chooses _now_ to rain?!" Sage complained. The chameleon wasn't a fan of water and neither was Zeus. The others simply didn't mind it.

"Come on! It's refreshin' during this time of year!" Vector argued, trying to keep everyone in high spirits despite the situation.

"I agree. However, there's something about being on the run that kinda just… puts a major downer on everything." Charmy spoke, sounding rather depressed.

"It sucks basically." Angel added. Dové shot the younger wolf an annoyed look, but she didn't notice it at all. Charmy merely sighed at her comment.

"So, how's Jak doing?" The bee asked.

"Well, considering that he hasn't woken up yet, I'd say he's doing okay. I will admit though, carrying him is a real pain." Dové told him with a smirk.

"Hand 'im over." Vector spoke. The wolf said nothing as he lifted the Husky onto his boss' shoulder.

"Thanks." He said simply before continuing to walk.

They had travelled a fair distance since they left an hour and a half ago. So far, no one seemed to be following and they hadn't run into anyone since. It was just them and the sands beneath their feet. At least this sudden storm was keeping it cool enough for the desert to be bearable. The reptilians of the group didn't want to think about the condition they would be in if there was no cloud cover.

A silence lasted for several minutes, making the situation noticeably awkward.

"Where the heck are we going?" Angel asked, breaking it. One by one, they all stopped walking and glanced at one another.

"Shit." Vector cursed without a care. "Where are we gonna go? There is literally nothing out here!"

"Okay, okay, let's try and think about this." Dové spoke, hoping to keep everyone calm. The last thing any of them needed was a panic. "We can't go back for obvious reasons." He began. "Are there any cities or towns anywhere near the mountains? We should have enough on us to last a week, maybe two if we're lucky." The rest of the Mobians began to think, but none of them knew the area well enough. It's not as if it was a good location spot. It was a brutal, unforgiving desert with treacherous mountain peaks at the other end. There was only one Mobian that they knew who would go out here at all and he was long gone.

"I'm going to take that long silence as a no." Dové spoke again when no one answered.

"I mean, we don't know. We haven't really ventured out here." Charmy told the older wolf.

"The kid's right." Vector confirmed. "I've only been out here once and that was when-" He cut himself off and gave Charmy a saddened look, which was instantly returned. "Anyway yeah, we really don't have a clue what's out here." The croc finished quickly. The others understood why he was suddenly so uncomfortable and chose not to question it.

"Actually…" Charmy started. "You guys know the side of the city where all those rich people live?" Everyone nodded. "Well, there's no desert beyond that. There's a forest instead." He paused, but continued when the others remained silent. "Well, I know it's no five star hotel, but we could camp out there." Various looks were shared among the group; some seemed confused while others seemed shocked.

"You're kidding, right?" Angel questioned. "Firstly, it's a jungle and secondly, there are more threats there than there ever could be in the city."

"I don't know about that." Sage spoke after staying quiet for the longest time. "I kinda like the idea of being out the wild. The only thing that concerns me is Zeus over here."

"Hey!" The snake complained as he still had himself wrapped around the chameleon. "I'll have you know that I am more than capable of taking care of myself." Sage couldn't help but chuckle at his best friend's sudden bad mood.

"Zeus, pal, I've lost count of the many times you've gotten yourself stuck in something just because you were slithering around without a care. You even got stuck in a window. Three times in one day! The same window as well!" Everyone was now trying to stop themselves from giggling, except for Jak who was still unconscious.

"Anyway, back to the point at hand." Vector said, bringing everyone back to what they were originally talking about. "I know that this idea ain't perfect, but right now, it's literally all we have. So Sage, keep Zeus with you at all times and make sure he doesn't touch anything. In fact, that goes for everyone. Chaos knows what's poisonous and what isn't. We can build some sort of shelter once we get there and set up camp. We can make this into an adventure!" The croc's enthusiasm was certainly unexpected and a little odd, but the others appreciated it.

Without talking about it anymore, the group set off for the jungle. What they didn't know, was that they would never make it there.

* * *

"Through here." Shadow spoke as they both navigated the tunnels. They had barely been there thirty minutes and the chameleon was already feeling extremely uncomfortable and made sure to keep his guard up. "We should be on the right level. Now we just have to find something close to a gaping hole."

"That's possibly-no, _is_ heavily guarded." Espio added.

"Like I said, we're prepared for that." The hedgehog told him, clearly the most confident of the pair. "Listen!" The mammal suddenly whispered as he froze. His hearing was vastly better than Espio's, but the reptile tried to listen anyway.

"What is it?" He whispered after a few silent moments.

"Footsteps." He said bluntly. "They're heavy." His voice conveyed confusion. "They're also… below us?"

"So?" Espio asked, wondering what the issue was.

"But… the underground level is on this level. There's nothing below that." Shadow reminded him.

"That you know of." Espio added, causing Shadow to turn to him with a face that conveyed great concern. "You saw that creature. You saw the size of it and the strength. Now that you've brought it up, I do not believe for one second that there is just one floor of these things. They must have labs, quarantine, testing areas and Chaos knows what else if they're creating abominations such as that one." Shadow was speechless. Now that the thought was out in the open, he couldn't help but wonder just how many people had been dragged down here. How many innocent lives had been taken from their families just for this? It made his blood boil.

"We have no time. We need to get down there." He growled before they both went searching for another ladder.

* * *

It was nearly another forty minutes later before they finally found what they were looking for. There was an enormous hole in what used to be a solid wall. However, just as Espio had predicted, it was being guarded by two heavily-armoured robots. Each of them was armed with a heavy machine gun on one arm and a laser cannon on the other. They each had a searchlight on top of their heads that was moving steadily back and forth from one side of the tunnel to the other.

"Okay, I have an idea of how to get past them." Espio announced quietly, but before he had a chance to explain, Shadow had lined up a shot and fired a Chaos Spear. It ricocheted off the wall and pierced the two robots with ease.

Espio stared at Shadow with a look that seemed to say 'what the heck?', but the hedgehog was quick to explain.

"Apologies, I just… needed to do that." They stared at each other awkwardly for a few more seconds. "Let's go." Shadow said abruptly before casually walking past the destroyed robots and into the complex.

"… Sure." Espio spoke to himself before catching up.

The mammal just ahead was looking around in shock. It was nothing like he remembered when he came here with Rouge all those years ago. Unless however, Espio's theory was correct and this place was a whole lot larger than just a single, secret, underground floor. It angered him once again, only now he didn't have robots to take it out on. He would hold it back for now and focus on what needed to be done.

They had wandered into a rectangular room with about a dozen empty stasis tubes. The lights weren't red like Shadow remembered and they weren't flashing either. They were a painfully bright blue.

"Dare I ask what these things are for?" Espio questioned quietly.

"I don't want to know." Shadow replied before finally walking to the door opposite them. "Come on, I don't want to be in here any longer than we have to."

"Okay, but now that we're here, what do we do?" The reptilian asked.

"We figure out a way to stop all of this. We need to bring this entire place down before they all escape." He told the other male.

"Without explosives, that's quite a challenge." Espio admitted.

"Tikal told me that there was a way to do this, she just wasn't sure what it was exactly."

"Do you trust her?" The chameleon asked.

"She's been right so far. I trust her enough to go along with this." Shadow concluded as they both walked through the oddly empty corridors.

"I know what you're thinking." Espio began. "Why is there no one down here?"

"You know me better than I know myself sometimes." The hedgehog grinned and glanced back at him momentarily. "But I get the feeling that there's a good reason as to why it's just us."

As he said that, a strange, other-worldy noise could be heard in the room to their left.

"Sh-Shadow?" The ninja stuttered.

"Stay right here." He told him.

"No, don't go in there! That could literally be anything!" Espio argued. He did nothing to hide the fear in his voice.

"Whatever it is, it needs to be put out of its misery. Do you understand?" Shadow asked, earning a soft and saddened nod in response.

The Ultimate Lifeform got his handgun ready with one hand and held the door handle with the other. He took a deep breath before slowly turning it and opening the door. Bit by bit, Shadow peeked his head around the door until his eyes widened at the sight before him.

It was on the floor, only managing to move itself around by dragging itself with its one working arm. Some of its body has been replaced by metal, while other parts had just been removed altogether. Judging by the odd scruffy patch of feathers here and there, it used to be Mobian. Even worse than that was how small it seemed to be. Its eyes were wide with fear as it tried to call out. Whoever it was, was just a child.

Shadow simply wanted to cry. He had more humanity than the humans that had done this. The hedgehog had no idea how much it understood in this state, but chose to talk to it.

"It's going to be okay." His voice was calm and gentle. He, at the very least, wanted to show the poor thing that kindness still existed. "Everything will be alright." He went on, now with a small smile.

The noises it was making stopped and it was now just staring at Shadow curiously, even trying to approach him. The mammal was hesitant, but soon knelt down and extended his free arm. The test subject crawled closer and shakily took hold of it.

It smiled.

"You're going to be okay." Shadow whispered, tears threatening to show. "You will not be hurt anymore." Its grip tightened. It desperately wanted to speak, but it just couldn't. All it could come out with were incoherent noises. "It's alright. Just try and rest, okay?" It gave him the same curious look from before, but then rested its head against the ground, keeping hold of Shadow's hand as it did so.

The hedgehog felt a stab of guilt, knowing what he had to do. He had no choice. Even if he could get the poor soul out of here, there was no recovering from trauma this severe, both mentally and physically. With some hesitation, he moved the weapon until it was pointing to the back of the creature's head. He gritted his teeth and closed his eyes.

"Sleep tight." He whispered before pulling the trigger.


	5. A Tunnel's End

**Hello all!**

 **I have a freshly finished chapter for you all! More plot progression! WHOOPEE!**

 **Well, nothing new on my end so I'll just leave you here to read in peace.**

 **See you all soon!**

 **Arby xx**

* * *

"I've got such a fucking headache." Shadow complained as they continued down another two floors. The blue lights were still flashing painfully and there was still no sign of anyone else.

The hedgehog had seemed a lot more irritable since he came out of that room. Espio knew what had happened since the mammal had told him, but he was still on a short fuse nonetheless. He forced his concern to the back of his mind and continued forward.

"Was Tikal sure that there was a way to bring everything down? I do not wish to doubt her, but I haven't seen any indication of anything close to that." The ninja asked, trying to take Shadow's mind off of things.

"True, but this place could be enormous. With that in mind, they couldn't run it off the power grid. You saw the equipment they had in the room we got in through. There must be hundreds more of them. Something like that couldn't be powered normally without someone taking notice, especially if this has been going on for far longer than we thought." The Ultimate Lifeform explained.

"So, you're saying that they may have their own source of power?" Espio questioned. Shadow nodded.

"I could be wrong, but I don't think the city's power grid could handle this facility without losing power a lot more often if not entirely. They must have some kind of generator or something."

Before they could talk more on the matter, a creature beyond recognition crawled from behind a corner and began to approach.

"Sweet Chaos…." Espio whispered at the sight. It used to be Mobian, or rather, _they_ used to be Mobian. Three pairs of arms were being used as the legs. The actual legs themselves were nowhere to be seen. They all seemed to have merged horribly at the hip and were struggling to move around because they each wanted to go their own ways, but couldn't. Each of them still had their white gloves, even if they were torn and blackened. One had a cracked beak, indicating that it used to be avian. The other two were harder to tell since they had no sign of feathers, fur or scales.

"It's alright." Shadow reassured. "It might be friendly."

"You mean 'they'." Espio spoke with sadness to his voice. This creature however, was not like Shadow's previous encounter.

Suddenly, tendrils shot from their backs and were aimed at both of them.

"Look out!" Shadow shouted as he Chaos Controlled out of the way. Espio leapt onto to the ceiling and went invisible. The hedgehog knew he was going to sneak up on them, meaning that he just needed to distract them long enough for him to get close. He moved around the narrow corridor as swiftly and unpredictably as he could. Tendrils were flailing around everywhere trying to grab him by any limb that they could.

Unfortunately for him, the creature was quickly learning his pattern despite not having one. It was as if it could read his mind! Soon enough, one of them wrapped tightly around his leg whilst his was in mid-jump and slammed him hard into the ground. His head crashed into the metal and pain shot through him. The mammal tried to get up and regain his composure, but quickly noticed that the tendril had retracted. Looking further, he saw that Espio had finally taken it down with three kunai, one in each of their heads.

Seconds later, the body began to melt entirely into some sort of black liquid with a stench similar to burning rubber.

"Ugh!" Espio yelled with disgust as it went all over his shoes and his three weapons that were now on the ground.

"That's… really fucked up." Shadow groaned before resting his head back down on the floor. The ninja was quick to retrieve the kunai and then ran to the hedgehog's side.

"Are you alright?" The chameleon asked.

"I'm fine, just waiting for the dizziness to stop." Shadow told him with an uneasy smile. "That thing was fast. Unexpectedly fast."

"It also wasn't natural." Espio spoke with an underlying growl. "What on Mobius have they been doing down here?"

"I don't want to think about it." The dark hedgehog replied. "I just want to end it." With that, he got back to feet, even if he was a bit unsteady. "We need to find the generator, assuming there is one, and destroy it. With some luck, it should take the base with it."

"That's not the most concrete of plans, Shadow." Espio pointed out.

"It's all we've got while we're down here. If we come across something better, then we'll do that, okay?" The chameleon nodded before they continued searching around the corridors.

One door in particular stood out to them as they wandered around. It was boarded shut with wood and had a giant red 'X' spray painted across it.

"Dare I ask what is in there?" Espio spoke first.

"I don't want to know. It's clearly barricaded for a reason. Let's keep going." Shadow concluded before beginning to walk ahead. Espio was about to do the same until something banged on the other side of the door. They both froze and stared at it, hoping that nothing jumped through the small glass panel.

Without another word, Espio went invisible and approached the door to look through.

"What the fuck are you doing?!" Shadow whispered in a panic, not knowing what the reptilian was up to. Espio inched his way closer and had to go onto his tip-toes in order to catch a glance of what was inside.

Suddenly, a tidal wave of enormous bugs slammed themselves up against the glass; climbing all over the other side of the door, either trying to escape, get to Espio or both. The chameleon stumbled backwards, but was quick to notice the smallest of cracks in the door.

"We need to go!" Espio shouted quickly before sprinting down the corridor.

"Where?!" Shadow asked.

"Anywhere!" Espio replied with a good amount of panic.

* * *

He had no idea whether it was panic still driving him at this point, or if it was just his instinct guiding him while he wasn't able to think. Either way, he could hear Shadow following him without questioning it further. It may have been hard to tell, but Espio appreciated it.

"Espio! Espio! Stop!" Shadow suddenly shouted. The ninja skidded to a halt, only now realising just how out of breath he was.

"Sorry. I just had to get away from all of those things." He stated.

"That's okay. I stopped you because of that enormous door over there." Shadow told him. Espio looked for himself, but it didn't take much.

The door stood out easily from all the others they had seen. It was much larger, made entirely of solid metal and a bitch to unlock.

"It needs both a key card and handprint identification." Espio confirmed after looking it over.

"Shit." Shadow cursed, knowing that getting both was not only going to be difficult, but meant that they both had to stay down here lot longer. "What are you doing?" He questioned when he noticed Espio fiddling with the panel.

"I don't know about you, but I _really_ do not want to be down here long enough for those… things to break out. This may not be the quickest solution, but me trying to hack into this is faster than both of us trying to find a key card and someone's hand." The reptile explained. Shadow nodded in agreement and chose to watch Espio's back while he got on with what he needed to do.

* * *

"No way! I am not going back down there!" Vector complained loudly. The Chaotix were now at the city's border once again and were now discussing the best way to get through it without being noticed.

"Would you keep it down?" Jak reminded him, now awake with a headache.

"Heh, sorry." The croc apologised. "But I stand firm. I am not going back into the sewers."

"I agree." Dové spoke. "If one got out, then it's highly likely that others did as well."

"Okay, but how then? I am not carrying you all over it." Charmy told them with a less-than-happy expression.

"Of course not. That would take way too long." Angel pointed out. "And the subway tunnels would be too dangerous for obvious reasons." She added.

"How about we just move at night?" Jak suggested. "We could sleep during the day with someone else keeping watch and then we could make good distance once the sun goes down."

"It seems like the only option we have right now." Vector told everyone. Sage and Zeus were one step ahead of them, leaning against one of the buildings in the alleyway they were in. They didn't feel the need to join in on the discussion, they just wanted listen and rest a little. "But Charmy could still fly one of us." The bee didn't look too pleased.

"Why? That would only split us up." Charmy argued.

"Yes, but that could be a good thing. At the moment, G.U.N. are only lookin' for Dové and myself. So, if you take one of us, then they can't catch us both." The head honcho explained.

"Actually, that's a pretty good idea." Dové praised.

"Why do you sound so surprised?!" Vector yelled, earning warning glares from everyone else. The wolf continued, ignoring his question.

"Charmy, if you and Vector go on ahead, you can find a spot to set up camp for us by the time we get there. Then, we can help you out once we arrive."

"You're only saying that because then it's less work for you." Charmy spoke with suspicion.

"That is true, but it means we'll be in a stable situation faster. We still have the task of crossing the city by foot. At least you guys get to fly." The older mammal explained.

"Eh, I guess he's right, Charms. Plus, we can always rest on the rooftops out of sight." The croc reminded him.

"Well, okay. That makes sense. You guys be careful, alright?" Charmy warned.

"You too." Angel replied.

"C'mon kiddo, let's get going." Vector finished.

"I'm not a kid anymore." The insect complained as they took off.

* * *

Several painfully slow hours had passed. Shadow had tried his best not to lose his patience, but instead fell asleep whilst leaning against the wall. Espio had worked non-stop to get through the door's security without setting anything off. He was no expert with technology, especially considering his background, but he knew enough from his missions with the Chaotix to get him through this complicated crap.

Suddenly, the door screeched to life, startling Shadow awake and forcing Espio to cover his ears. The hedgehog had spawned a Chaos Spear out of instinct, but soon got rid of it when his mind caught up to what was really happening.

"Good job." He praised with a hand now on the chameleon's shoulder. "How long did that take you?"

"Too long by my standards. I hope you had a nice nap." He said with a smirk.

"Yeah, whatever. Let's just get this done and get out of here." The hedgehog walked ahead, ignoring the chameleon's chuckle as he followed behind him.

The sight was beyond anything they had ever imagined.

Before them was an enormous generator. It went from the floor to the ceiling and had blue lightning constantly going off inside of it. Several nearby signs showed the status of 'The Core' as it seemed to be called.

"Chaos! This is what they need for power?!" Espio exclaimed angrily.

"It can't be. It must be doing more than that." Shadow tried to reason with himself more than Espio.

"Hm, it's providing power to everything. Lights, machinery, life support systems, security, everything!" Espio read aloud. "However, it needs a considerable amount of coolant to stop it from overheating." He added, catching the hedgehog's attention.

"I think we just found how to send this place to oblivion and everything in it." Shadow's face was deadly serious as he spoke, but the ninja understood why. While the creatures housed down here were very unpredictable, one wrong move with The Core and that would be the end of them. Their next moves had to be the right ones.

At the other end of the room was a strange, circular device. It had steps leading up to it, but seemed to be inactive. Espio wondered what on Mobius it was for, but at the same time felt an odd sense of familiarity towards it. Had he seen this before? He couldn't remember for the life of him.

There were two more doors, one on either side of the room that led to the coolant valves. Shadow effortlessly kicked them both open before heading to the one on the right. Espio went left and up a small spiral staircase to another locked door. He picked the lock with a kunai and got inside. He imagined that Shadow would have just thrown it off its hinges like the patient being he wasn't.

Once inside, he noticed four valves, one for each of the coolant pipes on the left side of The Core. Shadow would have had the same thing in his room.

" _Es, are you in"_ Shadow asked through the communicator. Espio held his wrist up and replied.

"Yes. I see four valves. I can only assume you have the same thing?"

" _Yeah. We're going to have to time this because once we shut one off, were going to have to be quick about the others."_ He informed, realising how dangerous this was going to be. _"When you're done, run straight back to The Core room. I'll meet you there and Chaos Control us out."_

"Understood." Espio said. "Count of three?"

" _Alright, ready?"_ Shadow began. _"One... Two… Three!"_

In that moment, the pair began to work overtime turning all of the heavy valves. Espio had a harder time because of his focus on agility and not on strength. It wasn't long before alarms began to bellow throughout the complex, signalling that The Core was overheating at a rapid rate. Nonetheless, the duo kept their calm and focused on what mattered and that was getting _all_ of the valves off.

Three down and the chameleon felt extremely uncomfortable. His instincts were screaming at him to get out, but he ignored them and went for the final valve.

Shadow was the one to finish first and hastily made his way back to The Core room, only to find that Espio wasn't there. His first move was to go to the other room and help him, but something else caught his attention.

The circular device closer to the door had activated itself, or it was malfunctioning, Shadow didn't know. It was on, that was for sure. Just by looking at it, he knew it was a portal of some sort.

Out of nowhere, the portal became like a black hole and began to drag everything that was loose towards it, including Shadow. He skated in the opposite direction, but it was gaining strength far faster than he ever thought was possible.

"Espio!" He called out, only for his voice to drown in the air around him.

Suddenly, the chameleon himself entered the room, having no idea of what was unravelling. In an instant, he was taken off of his feet and swallowed by the portal.

"No!" Shadow screamed before diving in after him.

* * *

Meanwhile, Vector and Charmy were on the roof of an office complex. Charmy needed to rest after carrying his boss quite a distance.

"You're doing great, Charms! We'll be at that jungle in no time!" He praised, giving the teen a rough pat on the back.

"I guess. That was exhausting though. Did you gain weight?" The insect smirked.

"What?!" Vector shouted with annoyance, causing the bee to laugh loudly.

Suddenly, a colossal boom was heard in the distance. The duo looked around in confusion, expecting to see smoke and fire from an explosion.

They saw neither.

What greeted their gazes instead was an enormous white light that was quickly enveloping the entire city.

"Shit! What is that?!" Charmy shouted, now in a panic.

"I'll call you out on your language later, but now we need to go!" Vector yelled as he grabbed onto the bee's hands just as he was taking off. "Fly faster!" The croc told him.

"I-I can't!" He sounded as if he was going to completely break down right there.

"It's alright!" Vector tried to reassure. "We'll be okay and so will everyone else! Just keep going and don't think about it!" He glanced behind him only for any hope of escape to be shattered. Everything in his body sunk when he saw the white explosion gaining on them at a ridiculous rate.

"Are we safe yet?" Charmy asked trying to ignore the burning of his body.

"Charmy…" Vector spoke with hopelessness. "Just land us somewhere." Hearing his voice, the bee teen knew there was no use in fleeing. The next rooftop was where they landed. The bee threw himself around the crocodile with tears flooding down his face.

"I'm scared." He whimpered.

"I know, Charms. I am too. But we've got each other and that's all we need." The croc reassured.

"W-what about the others?" Charmy asked, already knowing of their fate.

"… Don't think about it." He said before gripping him tighter as they vanished into the light.


	6. Welcome Back, Buttercup

**Greetings, humans!**

 **I have another chapter for you today and oh boy, this one is going to be a jaw-dropper. The nearly 4000 word count should be proof of that. So, I especially look forward to your reactions to this, feel free to leave a review. :P**

 **I'll let you get on with it and I'll see you soon.**

 **Have fun!**

 **Arby xx**

* * *

Slowly but surely, things began to return. His lungs began to breath and his consciousness began to take in the surrounding world. His hearing was first, being able to pick up the distinct noise of flames surrounding him. Then smell, which fought with smoke to take in oxygen. Fingers began to feel the hard, but uneven surface he was laying on. He coughed himself awake as the smoke invaded his senses. Finally, he saw where he was.

His golden eyes were slowly exposed to the sight that he had been lying in the middle of. It was a street no doubt, and one he recognised. What bothered him however, was the fact that this wasn't where he remembered being before. The chameleon was with Shadow and they were about to take out G.U.N.'s base, but then things just… go blank after that.

He didn't say a word as his brain searched for an answer. Judging by the vastly taller buildings, he was somewhere in or at least near the city centre. But that didn't make any sense at all. The ninja could only assume that he got out of the blast in time, otherwise he should've been dead. But where was Shadow?

Another thing that quickly came to mind was the fact that these buildings were standing at all. The explosion would've been colossal. There was no chance anything above three floors would still be intact. So then, how were there sky scrapers? The worst they had was the odd out-of-control fire.

It made no sense.

Deciding that standing in one spot wouldn't solve anything, Espio chose to walk and think. It was only a few steps later however, that he saw something that answered everything. In the distance, standing proudly, were towering walls of fire.

His head shook slowly and his mouth hung open. That meant that it wasn't an explosion at all. He _had_ Chaos Controlled, but something must have gone wrong. A glare formed on him when the only logical explanation came to mind: the Chaos Control that had sent him back in time.

All the way back to Nocturne's Reign.

"You have got to be kidding me." Espio growled. What had Shadow done? All he needed to know now was when exactly he was. If he knew that, then he would know where everyone else was. Speaking of which, if he was transported to the past, then Shadow should've been, right?

" _I hope he's okay."_ He thought, before deciding where he himself should go. Chaotix was the first place to come to mind and after turning invisible, he rushed off.

* * *

"Oh no…" He whispered when he saw the flames at the end of the street. At least now he had a better grasp on what time it was. Now he had to think; when did he last see this? It hit him pretty quickly. He had just found Arby in the sewers and got separated from Shadow, who was distracting the Wolf Packs at the time. But if his past self wasn't here, then he was either still underground or at Tails' place. Choosing what he thought was the closest option; he headed for the nearest sewer entrance and went underground.

His biggest problem now was finding his way around. Shadow knew where he was going, but he wasn't with him now. The walls were cracked, yet the atmosphere was clear. Espio distinctly remembered the green stained air of the sewer, so why wasn't it like that now? It was a minor detail, so he ignored it and kept walking, hugging the wall since he had no flashlight.

"Arby?" He called out, not expecting a response at all until he heard a disturbing click.

Suddenly, a gun was pushed against the back of his head with an all too familiar voice behind it.

"Don't move." She spoke coldly. The voice alone caused his blood to boil. There was no question as to who it was.

"Nocturne." He growled with nothing but venom, forgetting to question why she was down here at all. "You've got some nerve pointing that thing at me."

"You've got some nerve venturing down here, especially after last time." She, too, sounded particularly cold.

" _Last time?"_ He only ever remembered going down here once and that was to find Arby. Espio knew he didn't go underground at all before and after that. Regardless, he had to get out of this situation before his head got blown off.

"Since when did you use guns? I thought your Chaos powers were enough for you." He questioned, trying to buy himself some time.

"What are you talking about? I don't have Chaos powers. I've always used guns. We're you hit in the head or something?" He couldn't count the amount of red flags waving in his mind.

"Then, why are there fire walls outside? Why is the city on fire?" Espio asked. It was now that Nocturne lowered her weapon.

"Turn around." She commanded. The chameleon obeyed, still with his hands in the air. "You _are_ Espio, right?" He nodded.

"You're Nocturne, right?" She nodded and studied him. One brow rose after a few seconds.

"Why are you wearing Arby's bandanna? She never lets anyone touch that." Nocturne told him.

"Um…" He began, touching the painful subject yet again. "She gave it to me before she died." The chameleon female's eyes widened before she began to chuckle.

"Are you serious? She's dead?" A strangely friendly smiled spread across her face. "That's fantastic!"

"Are you kidding me?!" Espio snapped. "Why on Mobius is that fantastic?!"

"Oh right, sorry for your loss, blah blah blah." She spoke sarcastically. "But, in case you haven't noticed, her death has saved thousands of lives and made you powerless." Espio's anger instantly dropped.

"…Huh?" His voice clearly conveyed confusion. What the heck did she mean by that?

"What do you mean 'huh'? You know who she is, right? Or perhaps your amnesia is worse than I thought. I mean, it is odd for you to not be with her." His brain was nothing but red flags by this point. Were they talking about the same person? He needed answers. Now.

"Arby the hedgehog. She gave her life to save Vector, Kyousuke and myself. She was one of the strongest Mobians I had ever met." Espio explained briefly, earning an even more baffled expression from Nocturne.

"Uh… I don't know what the hell happened to you, but here's a quick recap." She rested her shotgun on her shoulder as she spoke. "Arby the hedgehog, who I am ashamed to admit is my sibling, is the most powerful being to ever walk this planet. She dominates this city and makes the lives of those within it an absolute hell. She would never give her life for anyone, but she's certainly taken plenty of lives for herself." Espio was speechless. That did not, under any circumstances, sound like Arby at all.

"Are you sure something happened to me? Maybe it was you who had a head injury." The ninja suggested.

"Oh, believe me, I know her. On top of that, I'm the one who leads the resistance _against_ her." Before she could add anything else, the communicator on her wrist began to beep. She answered it instantly, whilst pointing her shotgun back at Espio with one hand. "Yes?"

" _Nocturne dear, you know that energy fluctuation I spoke to you about earlier?"_

"Is that Eggman?!" Espio snapped back.

"Shut up!" Nocturne ordered, reminding him of the weapon in her hands. "What about it?" She spoke to her wrist.

" _Well in short, it was a Chaos Control like I suspected. However, it is not from this world at all or anywhere near it."_

"So? What does that mean?" The female questioned.

" _What I am saying dear, is to not harm the chameleon in front of you."_

"What?! Why the fuck not?!" Nocturne shouted back.

" _Nocturne, that chameleon has traces of the same energy. Wherever that Chaos Control came from, so did he."_ The chameleon looked back at him and lowered her shotgun.

"That explains a lot…" She mumbled under her breath. "So, what should I do with him?"

" _Bring him here."_

"You've got to be kidding! We're underground for a reason!" She snapped again.

" _Nocturne dear, please remember that he is not the same Espio that we know. Trust me, please?"_ Espio was stunned. Was the Doctor… begging? Also, why did he keep calling her 'dear'?

She grunted, but gave in. "Fine, I'll bring him back with me."

" _Thank you. See you soon."_ The communicator clicked and Nocturne lowered her wrist.

"It seems like you aren't who I thought you were." She concluded.

"Likewise." Espio spoke quietly. "But none of this makes any sense." He admitted.

"I know that feeling, but I'm sure we can work it out once we've sat down and talked." The chameleon seemed much nicer now that she had some information. The fact that she wasn't resorting to violence or making fun of him in any way that she could was a miracle in its own right.

" _Nicer? Nocturne? What?!"_ He screamed in his mind.

"Follow me, I'll show you to our little home. It's further underground, so it's safe." She told him. He could only nod and follow behind her.

* * *

The walk itself wasn't too bad. What took its toll on him were the ladders. He didn't remember the sewers going this deep, which he assumed Nocturne and her 'resistance' had built in order to make them harder to find.

Either way, they soon came to a fairly intact metal door. He thought it would be rusted and worn like everything else down here, but it seems they were at least keeping their hideout in good condition.

"Wait here." Nocturne spoke.

"What for?" Espio asked.

"I need to check if the Doc's brought everyone up to speed with what's going on. Otherwise, they're in for a nasty surprise the moment you walk in." The chameleon told him. He wasn't sure what his twin was like exactly, but it didn't sound good in the slightest. Espio nodded and stayed stood outside the door while Nocturne went in and greeted everyone.

He could hear muffled voices. Some were laughing and others were chatting. It sounded civil enough to him. While he was temporarily alone, the chameleon thought about where he was again. Eggman had said that it was a Chaos Control that brought him here, but where was here? It looked like his home city in every way, except for the role reversal of everyone he had met so far. Arby was evil? Nocturne and Dr. Eggman were good? Did that mean he was evil too? Nocturne made it seem that way.

It seemed like forever before the door opened up and a red and black chameleon beckoned him inside. He rolled his eyes, but entered nonetheless.

His eyes widened at what greeted him.

The room was long, with the entrance at one end. At the other, was a bar of some sort and various Mobians gathered talking and having a good time. There were a few of them playing smooth jazz with instruments that seemed to be entirely made from things they had found the sewer. It was rather impressive. The room was lit with lanterns that hung on the brick walls, giving it a pleasant glow. His golden eyes scanned the room carefully. Opposite the door, he was surprised to see Omega playing a game of chess with Metal Sonic… and losing.

"I thought you said you were not good at chess?" Omega questioned.

"Is that what I said?" Metal Sonic replied. "I meant that I wasn't good at losing." He added, earning himself a shaking fist from the other robot. Espio couldn't believe any of it. This all had to be a dream, right?

"Well, come on in. We're all friendly." Nocturne told him as she gestured to one of the wooden seats opposite where she was sat. Snapping back to 'reality', he breathed out and walked over to her, sitting in the seat she had gestured to.

"It's… surprisingly cosy down here." Espio commented.

"Thanks. I wanted to make sure that we all had a place to relax, a place to feel safe. Lanterns really do help the atmosphere." It was odd talking to Nocturne like this. Espio was so used to arguing with her. Dare he say it, but it was actually refreshing to have a 'normal' conversation with her. "Do you want a drink? We don't have alcohol or anything fancy." She told him.

"Uh… just water will do. Thank you." He said, knowing he would need it for the inevitable headache.

"Now _that_ , we do have. Hey, Trey!" She shouted to the bartender at the other end of the room. "Glass of water, if that's alright?" A black bear gave her a thumbs up.

"You got it, Noc!" He replied. Espio couldn't help but chuckle.

"Noc? I've never heard that one before." She merely shrugged.

"Just makes my name a little easier. It can get busy up here sometimes." The chameleon explained as she sat back in her chair.

"There are other floors?" Espio questioned, wanting to know more about where he was. Nocturne nodded.

"Yeah, we've got a few more floors below this one. I wanted to make sure everyone had room, without it being so big that it stood out, you know?" Espio nodded before getting to the questions that he knew were going to cause him a headache.

"I guess we'd better ask the bigger questions now." He ran his hand over his face and rubbed his eyes. Why couldn't things be simpler?

"I agree." Nocturne spoke, deciding to ask first. "So, a Chaos Control sent you here. That must have been one hell of a Chaos Control. What happened?" At least this was something he could answer.

"The last thing I remember is being in the G.U.N. complex, trying to take it out by overheating The Core beneath the base. I was shutting off the valves and then ran back to the main room. Everything goes blank after that. Then, I woke up here, what I thought was my home city." He was staring at his hands whilst leaning on his knees in the chair. A quick glance told him that Nocturne was taking in every word. This serious side of her gave a tiny amount of reassurance.

"Any idea what caused it?" She asked.

"I'm almost certain that Shadow at least had something to do with it. I can't remember if he was in the same room, but I know he wasn't far." His expression saddened. "I hope he's alright."

"Shadow the hedgehog? Wow, that's a name I haven't heard in a long time." Nocturne admitted.

"May I ask why?"

"Well, my memory is a little hazy, but the last thing I remember was that he was in a relationship with Espio. They were together for a while, but things went to shit. Shadow left him for whatever reason, but Espio didn't make it easy. He nearly killed him."

"What?!" Espio said a little too loud, causing a momentary hush over the entire room before returning to normal. "…Apologies." He mumbled.

"It's fine. We're you two a thing where you came from?" She questioned further.

"'Are' a thing." He corrected. She nodded and gave a warm smile. He almost didn't recognise her.

"Ah, Nocturne! My dear! Welcome back!" It didn't take a genius to figure out whose voice that was. Espio looked to his left to one of the ladders, to see Doctor Eggman walking towards them. He approached Nocturne and pat her on the head like some kind of puppy. "You did very well!" He praised. She chuckled.

"Thanks, Doc. Now if you wouldn't mind, what the hell is going on?" She spoke with a playful glare.

" _Took the question right out of my head."_ Espio thought.

"Firstly, hello there!" He greeted as he held out his hand to the ninja. "I am Doctor Ivo Robotnik or Eggman as many like to call me." Espio took his hand with some amount of caution and shook it.

"Uh, I'm Espio. Nice to meet you?" He questioned, not really sure if he meant it himself.

"I understand that you must be as confused as we are, but allow me to explain." The scientist remained standing as he attempted to put some sense into the situation. "My scanners picked up an enormous energy fluctuation. At first, I didn't think it had a source until I looked closer. It came from the northern side of the city."

"What?!" Both chameleons exclaimed.

"That's not possible! We would've seen something that huge." Nocturne pointed out.

"I would have to agree with you. However, I remembered an old theory that I was researching a while back, which I was unfortunately forced to drop thanks to the actions of that pesky hedgehog." Eggman complained.

"Sonic?" Espio asked.

"Who?" The ninja's jaw nearly fell off, but the Doctor quickly remembered. "Oh! You mean that blue one? No, no, not him. He's long gone." He told him, causing Espio to slowly turn until he was staring at Nocturne. She quickly got the hint and sighed.

"If you must know, the little brat was sent to oblivion by Arby. They were fighting for control and well… you know who won."

"I… see." Espio just about managed to say. Sensing the sudden awkwardness, Eggman continued.

"I was referring to Arby. I had to suddenly build defences when she decided to wipe them out with no warning. But that was at our old hideout, so no need to dwell on it." It may not have showed, but the chameleon was having a hard time with what he was hearing. Arby was evil? The sentence alone didn't sit right with him. "Anyway, I was looking into the Many Worlds Interpretation. A theory which basically says that there are many different variants of the same thing that is parallel to our own. For instance, there is an infinite amount of our very own planet. However, each one has details that are different. These details can be very small or very noticeable."

"Care to summarise?" Nocturne joked, mimicking the action of her head exploding.

"Of course. What I am saying is that you, Espio, are from a different version of what we know here. This would explain why you recognise the city's layout, yet do not recognise us."

"That's not true." The chameleon spoke. "I do know who you are. The problem I'm facing is that you are good guys."

"Are you saying we're evil where you came from?" The other chameleon asked. Espio nodded immediately.

"That also makes sense. He may be from a Mobius where things are swapped, so to speak. This explains why he is good when here, he is clearly evil." The two let out a drawn-out exhale.

"Okay, I can grasp that at least. So, Arby is good where you came from?" Espio nodded again.

"Well… 'was'." He corrected.

"I am sorry. What happened again? She gave her life, was that it?" Nocturne asked, curious as to how her sibling's mind worked on the opposite end of the spectrum.

"Yes. We were on Eggman's carrier, which he had set to self-destruct. She stayed behind to slow the countdown so that I and a few others could escape. Her powers were weak however, and they drained her energy quickly. Needless to say, she never made it out." Espio told her, with a tear forming in the corner of his eye.

"At least on your world she sounded noble. The same can't be said for ours." Her fists clenched and she had to take several deep breaths to calm herself. "Same goes for you. You seem like a really nice guy." This jogged Espio's memory of the question he was going to ask earlier, but slipped his mind given the circumstances.

"What am I like here?" Nocturne glared at the ground as she spoke.

"Evil would be a good start. You-well, _he_ isn't very strong, despite his ninja background. He instead, has Arby as his personal powerhouse. She follows him blindly and obeys his every word without so much as blinking." The chameleon female explained. Espio felt uncomfortable just hearing it. He was nothing short of an asshole here, using a strong, yet weak-minded individual to do his dirty work.

"What if the Espio here was good? Would Arby still listen to him?" The chameleon was curious, although part of him didn't want to believe that Arby was as bad as everyone seemed to think.

"Without a doubt. Like I said, she listens to his _every_ word, no matter how good or bad." Nocturne reminded him. "Although, we are more likely to win the lottery without a ticket, than Espio changing his ways." She finished with a sarcastic smile.

"What about Charmy and Vector? They're my two closest friends, well… they were at least." He saddened. Nocturne didn't question it and answered.

"Charmy is Arby and Espio's right-hand psycho. He has two modified pistols that have daggers attached to them. You can imagine what he does with those. Vector works with Tails to create machines for them both. They're responsible for the fire walls on the outskirts and the fleet that Arby and Espio own." Espio almost choked on thin air.

"They have a fleet?!" Nocturne lightly nodded.

"Yeah, that's where they live and operate from. Cowards. If they lived down here, you bet I would've torn them apart by now." She growled with fire in her eyes.

"Knuckles?" Espio went on.

"He's been missing longer than Shadow has. Not that we saw much of him anyway."

"Amy?"

"Dead. She tried to fight Arby… it wasn't pretty."

"Vanilla and Cream?"

"Vanilla was killed by Charmy at Cream's request." Espio wanted to throw up at the thought of it. "Cream has been in hiding for a few years now, but you can bet your butt that Charmy knows where she is." Nocturne added. "Are you gonna drink that?" Espio gave her an odd look, until he looked by his feet to see a glass of water. His eyes made their way back to the bar and by extension, Travis. The bear gave him a small wave, which Espio returned before finally picking it up and drinking it.

"What about Rouge? She was killed by Nocturne on my world." The chameleon choked on nothing as soon as she heard it.

"Are you serious?! Why?" Nocturne asked, with her voice filled with worry.

"Um… I'm not sure exactly, but it was horrific. You sound upset by that." Espio pointed out.

"Well, yeah. I would never lay a finger on her. She means everything to me." His mind went blank.

"W-what?" He stuttered unintentionally. "You're friends on this world?"

"Actually…" She trailed off and instead, lifted her left hand. "We're a little bit more than friends." A confident smirk was upon her, until Espio's entire body went noticeably pale. "Uh… are you alright?" No, he wasn't and it wasn't until a few seconds later that he finally passed out.


	7. From Honey to Blood

**Greetings, Humans!**

 **Another chapter is here for your enjoyment today. This one is also longer than usual, I guess I just had a lot to write. There is also some colourful language in this chapter. I mean, it's rated M so... but I'd thought I'd give you a heads up anyway. :)**

 **Anyway, my life is pretty much the same, so I have nothing interesting to fill you in on.**

 **I hope everyone is doing well and I'll see you all soon!**

 **Arby xx**

* * *

"Are you sure he'll be okay?"

"Trust me, hun. If he's as stubborn as the Espio we know, then he'll be just fine."

His body began to stir, disturbed by the two voices talking near him. Two eyelids flickered open to a smaller room, lit by the same kind of lanterns. A groan rumbled through his throat as the headache he remembered from earlier was still lingering.

"Hey there!" An all too familiar bat greeted as she leaned over him.

"Ugh… Rouge? Is that you?" He groaned, not quite realising that he wasn't at home.

"Not the Rouge that you knew, so don't get any ideas." Nocturne winked at him once she came into view and wrapped one arm around the bat's shoulders. It all came screaming back to him.

"So… y-you two are…" He couldn't finish his sentence.

"Married, yeah." Rouge finished for him. "Which seems to be a problem for you. Did you like the Rouge from your world?" Espio sat up instantly, causing the other two Mobians to jump back.

"N-No! Uh, no, I didn't. Shadow might have at some point, b-but not me." He told them as he regained his breath.

"Shadow? Really? He and I never got on. If I remember right, I was 'too innocent' for him." The bat explained.

" _Something which you definitely weren't on my world."_ Espio thought in his not-quite-awake state.

"His loss, in my opinion." Nocturne spoke proudly as her hands wrapped around Rouge's. "Moving on, we need to figure out a way to get you back to your own world." She was right, but how were they going to do that?

"I wish I had answers, but I am also at a loss." Espio admitted whilst looking away from the pair. "I know it was Chaos Control. I just know it, but something must have contributed to its drastically increased radius."

"If we knew what that was, then this would be far less of a problem. No offence." Nocturne rubbed the back of her neck and shrugged.

"I do wonder though." Espio went on, regaining the attention of the other two. "If I was sent here, then maybe others were as well." Rouge's face saddened.

"But, they would still be up there!" The bat panicked. Nocturne gripped her hand tighter to calm her down before remembering something.

"We could detect the traces of Chaos energy on them, just like the Doc did with you. I know he used to have sensors around the city, until someone found them. Bonus points for guessing who." She ended in a half-sarcastic and half-angry tone.

"It couldn't hurt to ask, right?" The bat pleaded, giving the chameleon a look she couldn't argue with.

"I hate it when you do that." Nocturne spoke with a playful grin. "Alright, we'll go and check. Feel free to wander around the hideout. Just don't go into the basement, that's all I ask." With a smile, the duo left Espio alone on the bed.

A heavy sigh escaped him. His eyes travelled down until they landed upon the two items he had around his neck. The first, being one of his shuriken stars with a bit of string attached to it, making it a necklace that he found in Shadow's old apartment. The other, being a red bandanna that Arby had given to him before she died. Unexpected tears ran down his face.

"At least I can find one of you…" He whispered.

* * *

The tall man paced back and forth around his lab. Two Mobians watched as if he were a metronome, until one of them lost their patience.

"Doc! We have life spans, you know!" Nocturne complained, earning a giggle from the bat by her side.

"I had 24 sensors around the city. It wouldn't be too much of a stretch to think that at least one could still be functioning. I'll certainly try." Eggman concluded.

"Any idea how long it'll take?" Nocturne asked. "Not to be rude, but if there are more of them, then they are in danger."

"I understand, Nocturne dear. I will get on it immediately." He told her as he rushed off to his main computer at the other end of the lab. The chameleon nodded and left, with Rouge following behind her.

"So, what's the plan now?" Rouge questioned, knowing that Nocturne wasn't usually the type to just wait around.

"Our city may be the same as his, but he still needs to get a grasp of the place. While he is here, he could be helpful." The chameleon thought. "Let's just take this one step at a time. Then we'll see how effective he is against King and Queen Sociopath." Rouge giggled again.

"Sounds good, hun." The bat replied. "But, won't he need a communicator?" Nocturne smiled back at her as she helped her up one of the ladders.

"You're getting better at this. There should be a few in our room. Would you mind grabbing one while I speak with Espio?" The chameleon asked kindly. Rouge smiled and nodded, giving her a quick peck on the cheek before flying off.

* * *

A few minutes later, and Nocturne strolled into Espio's temporary room. He gave her a nod, which she returned before speaking.

"Feel like going for a walk?" She asked.

"What?" Espio replied with a puzzled look.

"You need to get 'a lay of the land' so to speak. The better you know _our_ version of the city, the better you can help us." Nocturne explained. Espio didn't need to think about it. Scouting around could be extremely beneficial for him. He could try to find anyone else that had been teleported here, but then, a thought entered his mind which drained the colour from his body. The other chameleon instantly noticed. "What is it?" She asked in a clearly concerned tone.

"Um… what if I run into… Arby?" Nocturne didn't understand why this would be a problem, until she remembered that she wasn't a 'complete bitch' in her words, on his version of Mobius.

"The odds of that are against you, but it's not impossible. Just try to remember that she isn't the Arby that you knew, okay?" Her voice was comforting, although the anxiety still prodded at his stomach. Espio nodded, followed by a slightly awkward silence. Nocturne didn't like to talk about her sibling, not that she considered her that anymore.

Thankfully, Rouge flew gracefully into the room with a device that was identical to the one Nocturne had on her wrist. She thanked her other half with a kiss before taking the gadget and handing it to Espio.

"A communicator, I assume?" Espio spoke calmly.

"Yep, it has a map of the city, should you get lost. It also has all of us on there, so if you need a hand, you can call any one of us. Another handy feature is that the map has a marker of where our hideout is. Because of that however, I urge you to not lose it." A sudden stern look overtook her face. "I mean it." Espio leaned back a little. He wasn't used to this serious side of Nocturne. Regardless, she had good reason to be a bit forward.

He thanked her and Rouge before placing the device onto his wrist, making double sure that it was on properly, with Nocturne making triple sure.

"It looks good!" Rouge spoke to lift the tension.

"Thank you. Should I get going?" Espio asked.

"Sure, just be careful and keep that thing handy. Common sense really." The reptilian female reminded him before gesturing to the door. "Take lots of photos and bring us back some souvenirs." Now this, he was used to. At least this time it was in a friendlier tone, instead of her testing his patience all the time.

"I'll be back soon." He waved a quick goodbye before making his way to the main door, spotting Omega as he finally won a game of chess.

The moment he stepped out the door, he needed to look at the map. He wasn't at all familiar with the sewer tunnels, no matter what world he was on. For such a small device, it was surprisingly detailed, yet easy to read, making navigating the tunnels no problem at all.

He soon came to a ladder and, with extra care, stood in the middle of the street. Now, where should he go? He had already seen the state of the Chaotix earlier, so he needn't go there.

" _I guess simply wandering the streets will do for now."_ He thought as he didn't want to go anywhere in particular.

Espio walked calmly through the streets. It both surprised him and didn't when they were mostly empty. Most people were probably in hiding, some with Nocturne and some not. The chameleon looked up, shocked to see that Nocturne's details on the reigning pair weren't exaggerated.

Suspended in the sky, were many warships with one in particular standing out, though not by Eggman's standards. With the Doctor, you _knew_ which ship was his personal one. It was usually three times the size of the rest of them and came equipped with his face in all its pride. It was clear just by looking at them that Espio and Arby worked differently. Yes, their ship was bigger, but only just enough to be noticeable. He couldn't see the colours however, as they were so high up. The smoke of nearby burning buildings didn't help either.

Suddenly, he heard gunshots and they were loud, indicating that they were fairly close. Espio chose to stay invisible; always a wise choice.

He fled to the rooftops and honed in on the noise as it went off again. Screaming could be heard now, accompanied by psychotic laughter and yelling. Soon enough, he found what was causing it as he peered over the roof of an apartment complex.

His amber eyes widened at the sight of a young child being harassed by a male Mobian with a gun. His body began to shiver when he realised who the Mobian was.

"Look at the fear in your eyes! I should take a picture! It'll last far longer than you will!" The Mobian pulled out a second gun from his jacket and began to laugh as the child tried to get up and run. "Whoa! Where ya goin'?" He asked sarcastically as he shot the ground near where the child was, causing the Mobian cat to trip out of fright. "Oh, that's right! Nowhere!" He walked up to the kid until he stood over the feline. "You're in for one heck of a night, you little shit!" The bee pointed one of his weapons, until the call of his name distracted him, allowing the child to flee into the darkness. "Aww man! I lost my prey!" He complained loudly.

"What are you doing?" Espio growled as he became visible to none other than Charmy Bee; the right-hand psycho.

"Espio? What are you doing down here? And without Arby, too? You must have had a rough night." The teen chuckled, earning himself a disgusted glare from the chameleon.

"Answer my question." He demanded. Charmy held his hands up.

"Alright! Alright! Sheesh! I was just on my usual hunting run. That would've been my third one tonight if you didn't ruin it. Thanks, by the way." He spoke with yet more sarcasm. "Now, it's time for you to answer mine." Espio was in a tighter spot now. He had no idea how the Espio here acted, aside from what Nocturne had told him. He was manipulative, powerful only thanks to Arby and didn't care about anyone. That was his best guess and now he had to act the same way, even if he _really_ didn't want to.

"I'm here to make sure that… my city is still the way I left it." An uncomfortable pause lasted, until Charmy burst into laughter.

"Well, of course it is! You've got me down here keeping everyone in check! Did you forget?! You're hilarious!" The bee had to return his pistols to his jacket so that his hands were free to clutch his stomach as he fell to the floor.

" _You are not right."_ Espio wanted to feel bad. What made Charmy like this? _"Either way, I can't just let this continue."_

"Where did that child go?" The chameleon asked, immediately diverting the insect's attention.

"Oh yeah!" He turned around to try and look for 'his prey'. "I think that cat went that way. Or maybe-" His sentence abruptly halted. While Charmy was turned, Espio had silently drawn his sword and slammed the hilt hard into his head, knocking him out. Without saying anything, he fiddled with his communicator until Nocturne's name was highlighted.

" _Hello?"_ The chameleon spoke from the other end.

"I've got Charmy unconscious here. What do you want me to do with him?" Espio asked. Nocturne was speechless.

" _W-what? As in you… Charmy? You mean…"_ Espio rolled his eyes.

"Yes, _your_ Charmy." He confirmed.

" _Holy shit!"_ She shouted, with a playful telling off from Rouge in the background. _"I'll ask how on Mobius you did that when you get back. For now, bring him back here and we'll make sure he doesn't harm another soul."_ She instructed.

"Understood. I'll be back soon." The communicator clicked and Espio set to work by placing the bee over one shoulder and, after checking that nothing had been left behind, making his way back underground.

* * *

Despite the awkwardness of climbing down ladders, Espio eventually made it back to the hideout with Charmy still unconscious. He knocked on the door and heard a voice on the other side.

"Dare I ask who you are?" Nocturne spoke. Espio couldn't tell if she was just messing around or being cautious since he had a psychotic bee with him. Regardless, he went along.

"It's Espio. The good one." He told her before the door opened, allowing him inside.

"Follow me." Nocturne instructed with a deadly serious tone. Espio looked to Rouge, who was stood nearby. She nodded with a concerned look and gestured for him to follow the female chameleon.

He followed her down more ladders until they were both at what he assumed to be the lowest level. It was noticeably darker down here, with fewer lanterns and the bricks of the walls were worn; old and unpleasant also. One end of the floor was just a plain wall, but at the other, was a heavy door that Nocturne was currently opening.

"You know, I never thought I'd ever get a chance to use this place." She told him.

"What is 'this place'?" Espio asked, still with the bee over his shoulder.

"This is the basement that I told you not to go into earlier. I guess you have permission now." She paused and turned to him just before opening the door. "Well, 'basement' was a lie. You'll see." She then swung the door open, revealing that it was indeed not a basement, but rather, a dungeon.

Espio was speechless as he scanned over each cell. They were all empty.

"I tidied this place up when I first found it, hence why it looks a lot better than outside." Nocturne explained, hoping to ease the uneasiness. They went to the farthest cells before she turned to him again, helping him place the bee on the floor.

"We're just going to leave him down here?" Espio asked, clearly concerned.

"I know that might be a bit… horrid considering the Charmy you know is nothing like this one. But please, try to understand the atrocities that this asshole has committed. So many innocent lives have perished at his filthy hands that leaving him here is more of a kindness compared to what I could do to him." Fire was in her eyes as she looked up at him. Espio could only nod as Nocturne changed the topic. "I'm going to have to make sure he's stripped clean, just in case he has something more on him. You can wait outside." Sensing that her words were more of an order, the chameleon obeyed and waited outside the door until she was done.

Suddenly, yelling could be heard from inside. Espio was about the charge in until he heard Nocturne shouting back.

"Pipe down! You're lucky you're still alive after everything you've done!" The chameleon hissed with venom.

"Fuck you! You just wait until Es and Arb figure out that I'm gone! They'll hunt you down and tear you to pieces!" Charmy shouted back, his voice filled with nothing but seething hatred.

"Is that so? How're they gonna know you're gone?" Her voice sounded incredibly smug. A pause followed, before Charmy began smashing against the bars and yelling hollow threats.

"You bitch! Give that back!"

"Oh, okay. Since you asked so nicely, here you go." She mocked.

"You stupid whore!" He finished.

"Let's just make one thing clear. You are not getting out of here. You have nothing on you and there are no means of escape. In other words, you can fucking rot down here for all I care. You are nothing more than a sadistic, little brat and this is exactly what you deserve." Her voice was fierce without a doubt, but there was an odd sense of peace to it, as if she had prepared for a speech like that her whole life.

She soon emerged from the dungeon; with more swear words being thrown at her. The door was locked tight. His yelling was just a muffled drone now.

"May I ask you something?"

"Sure, what's up?" Nocturne replied, seeming a lot more relaxed now.

"How long have Arby and Espio reigned over this place?" She had to think about it for a few moments, but her answer surprised him.

"A little over ten years." She told him, still thinking it over. "Yeah, that's right. Why do you ask?"

"So, I haven't travelled through time at all." He mumbled just loud enough for her to hear.

"You thought you had?" She asked in return.

"The thought was there, but I couldn't be sure until now." He explained, still getting his head around the fact that he was in the same time, just a different version of the same place.

" _Where's Tails when you need him?"_ The chameleon thought with annoyance and a minor headache.

"I know all this is ridiculously confusing, so how about we focus on the here and now, yeah?" The chameleon female suggested. Espio agreed before following her back upstairs. "By the way…" The chameleon went on. "How on Mobius did you get him so easily?"

"He was distracted by the child he was trying to attack. I was able to hit him when his back was turned." Espio explained. "I should also point out that he thought I was the other Espio."

"Really?! Wow, he must be really fucking observant then, huh?" Nocturne burst into laughter at her own sarcasm and Charmy's stupidity, even if it did prove useful in his capture. "But we could use that to our advantage. Was the other Espio around?" The reptile asked. Espio shook his head. A thoughtful look became present on her face. "Then perhaps you could go undercover. Of course, you'd have to learn his behaviours and personality, but that shouldn't be too bad, right?" The grin she wore was telling him that he had little choice in the matter.

"I'm not normally one to shy away from danger, but this seems incredibly risky. They own a fleet, so by that logic, they should have a ridiculous amount of security measures." Both chameleons thought about the possible scenario. While the idea was certainly a rare opportunity, neither could ignore the enormous risk that went with it, especially since none of them knew the full extent of what Arby and Espio had at their fingertips.

"I'll give you that. We don't know what kind of technology they possess, but I assure you that you will be more than ready to face it. You're just going to have to train a little." She smirked at him before beckoning the ninja to follow her.

" _What have I gotten myself into now?"_ He thought with a sigh. Espio climbed the ladder after her expecting the worse, but hoping for the best.


	8. I See You, You See Me

**Hello everyone!**

 **I know this was a little delayed, but when the spark isn't there, it just isn't there.**

 **Nothing exciting is happening as per usual. The snake shed again and nearly took my hand off. I guess that was a rush. The chameleon is shedding again too. Reptiles do that, heh. I did try Overwatch today though, but I'll be honest, I just don't understand all the hype for it. Then again, after Halo, my taste for FPS' had kinda died. Oh well.**

 **I hope you all have had a good summer (assuming it is summer where you are) and I'll see you all again soon.**

 **Arby xx**

* * *

It felt like he had been following her for roughly an hour. Luckily, Espio was very patient. Nocturne too, seemed to have a longer fuse.

Soon enough, she led him to a room labelled 'Archives'. Here, the resistance keep tabs on those that they consider a threat; Arby and Espio being the pair with the highest priority.

"As much as I hate to say this, we don't have the wealth of information on them that I'd like." Nocturne admitted as she got out one of the old surveillance tapes and began to play it on an ancient-looking TV.

It was just static for the first few seconds before an image displayed itself. Surrounding buildings were on fire and the road looked as if an earthquake had occurred just moments prior. Before long, the chameleon in question walked confidently into the shot with an all too familiar hedgehog following behind him.

"Arby…" Espio whispered to himself. The pair stopped and Espio immediately took notice of the camera. He didn't say a word, but simply pointed defiantly towards it. Arby looked in the direction he was pointing in before her eyes lit up completely white. The last thing they saw was the hedgehog fly towards the camera in a split second before the feed cut out.

"It may not be much, but it does say a lot." Nocturne spoke as she turned to a saddened Espio.

"That she obeys him without question." The ninja spoke with a worried tone.

"Yes, but also that this Espio isn't as stealthy when Arby is around. Along as he has her, we're powerless. If it was chameleon vs chameleon, well… let's just say he'd be in pieces." Nocturne summarised.

"Has he ever been seen without Arby?" Espio asked. Nocturne shook her head.

"Arby is the only reason he's still alive." She told him. Shoving his emotions aside, Espio tried to think of some way to separate them.

"If Arby listens to that Espio, are you sure she would listen to me? Even if the differences are small, they are still noticeable, especially when she knows him so well." The chameleon explained.

"Arby isn't as observant as you might think. Well, this one isn't anyway. As long as you are Espio, then she will listen to you." Nocturne seemed to sadden, but continued. "Don't tell anyone I said this, but the thing that hurts here is that she cares for him so much that her morals are non-existent. If it meant him not getting hurt, then she would give her life without a second thought. But with the emeralds, she can't die. She'll keep defending him no matter what he does. Arby loves him and he doesn't give a shit about that." Her last sentence hit Espio in an unfamiliar place.

" _But… Arby had given her life for me."_ He thought.

"Not just me." He reminded himself, saying it quietly enough that Nocturne wouldn't hear. He remembered back to the times when she outright admitted that his life took priority over hers. What did it mean? Yes, she cared about him. He already knew that. But what had never crossed his mind was how much she cared about him.

" _She couldn't have…"_ Espio told himself repeatedly.

"Hey." Nocturne spoke. "You alright? You're just kinda… shaking your head there. Something wrong?" It was silent for a few seconds before he spoke.

"No, everything is fine. I guess I should get to work." He replied, hoping to change the subject.

"I wish I had more info to give you. Now that I think about it, how the heck do we only have one tape on this guy?!" The chameleon female questioned with frustration. "I'm gonna go see the doctor. I'll come back later. Good luck." She smirked at him before closing the door behind her, leaving him in a room that was lit only by the TV screen.

* * *

"I'm sorry, Nocturne dear. A lot was lost at our old hideout. It's just bad luck that we only have the one remaining tape of Espio and Arby." Eggman told her. She sighed loudly.

"Perfect. This is only going to make his mission all the more dangerous." She paused. "What... what if he was to… let's say 'not make it' back to his own world? Would anything happen?" She asked almost regretfully.

"I don't have a certain answer for you I'm afraid. Just him being here should have its own consequences, but everything seems fine for now. If he were to die here, I honestly wouldn't know what would happen. I'm sorry." He spoke with as much regret as she did.

"I wish things were easier." She admitted whilst staring at the wall.

"I know, dear. I know."

Before anything else could be said, a familiar beeping began to sound at the other end of the lab.

"I don't believe it!" The doctor spoke in disbelief.

"Is that one of your old sensors?" Nocturne asked.

"It is! It's picked up a signal that is nearly identical to the one Espio had! You must get up there immediately!" Nocturne made a mental reminder of the location on the screen before making haste to inform Espio and Rouge.

* * *

Barely a few minutes had passed by the time they had gotten themselves armed and onto the streets. Espio insisted that he didn't need a gun, but Nocturne was just as stubborn.

"It's better to have one and not need it than to not have one and need it." She stated.

Nocturne and Espio were running whilst Rouge was flying above them and keeping an eye out for any dangers that may be lurking within the darkness.

"We're nearly there!" Nocturne shouted as they ran towards the coast. The beaches would've been pitch black if it wasn't for the odd working streetlight. The trio came up to the sand, looking around frantically as they did so.

"Do you see anything, Rouge?" Nocturne asked.

"I think I see something over there. It's hard to tell." The bat replied.

"Let's check it out. You never know." The reptilian concluded. As they got closer, they could clearly see three figures stood near each other. They didn't seem to be fighting or arguing. Espio hoped that they were people he knew.

Suddenly, Nocturne grabbed Espio's arm tight and pulled him to a stop.

"What the-" Before he could do so much as question, he noticed that the female had her shotgun armed and ready. He looked to Rouge who had done the same. Finally deciding to see for himself, Espio turned his head towards the other trio, only for chills to run down his spine and an uncomfortable nausea to overcome his stomach.

"I knew you would all show up eventually." The darker chameleon spoke to them. "I don't think shooting us would be a good idea."

"Try me, you son of a bitch." Nocturne hissed.

"Temper, temper." The other Espio teased with a grin. "One wrong move and your bodies will be my trophies."

" _I-it's her… but it isn't. They look the same, it must be. But this isn't my world."_ Espio mentally argued as he stared at the hedgehog not too far from his other self. The other Espio chuckled darkly.

"Don't think I haven't noticed your expression, chameleon. You know exactly who this is, don't you?" Nocturne and Rouge both looked at him with concern.

"She's not the Arby you think she is. Snap out of it!" The resistance leader whispered.

"Well, your silence certainly isn't helping. But as you can clearly see, he is working with her to take over this city and we simply won't allow it." The three of them heard clearly what the evil Espio was saying to none other than Charmy Bee.

"Wait, what?!" Nocturne shouted.

"I thought we captured him?" Rouge asked with genuine confusion.

"We did." Espio said hopelessly. He knew which Charmy this one was and he knew by the bee's expression that he was not in the best of moods.

"I should've known!" The bee spat coldly. "I hated you so damn much for running off, but now this?! Are you fucking kidding me?!"

"W-what are you talking about?" Espio stuttered, trying to gain a grip of the situation.

"Don't be an asshole! You know exactly what I'm talking about! Joining forces with that psycho! I thought you gave a shit about her! You're a twisted bastard!" The bee practically screamed at him.

"Psycho?! We're the good guys here!" Nocturne argued. "He's the shit stain that's caused all of this! We've been trying to stop him for years!"

"How precious." The other Espio mocked.

"Charmy, please." The ninja spoke with desperation. "We are in another version of our world. That Espio is evil and manipulative. He's trying to use your hatred to get to me. Look, I'm so sorry that I ran after what happened. Words cannot explain how much all of this hurts, but I promise you I will never leave your side again. Just please, come with us. We can keep you safe in this world."

An uneasy tension lasted for what felt like years as Charmy thought about everything that was said. Nocturne was keeping her shotgun firmly aimed at the other Espio, as was Rouge. The good ninja was watching Charmy. He was so happy to see him, yet so scared of losing him. On top of that, Arby was right there. It may not have been the one he knew, but she was still Arby in his eyes. He was convinced that she was good; she just needed a better role model.

"I don't trust this." Nocturne whispered to Rouge.

"Me neither." The bat told her.

"Can I talk to Arby?" Charmy finally spoke. The other Espio seemed to falter for a moment.

"May I ask why?"

"Because Arby never lies." Charmy replied. Espio's jaw dropped. How did he remember that?

* * *

" _Allow me to tell you pathetic mortals the story of how I came to be. Perhaps then you will see who the real villain is." I could barely breathe. I knew exactly what she was going to tell them. I had to think of something._

" _How do we know you're telling the truth?" Espio asked as he glared up at her._

" _Because, my dear sister will back me up. You were always the honest one."_

* * *

Uncertain glances were exchanged as the bee approached the hedgehog.

"You're… not the Arby I used to know, are ya?" The bee asked. Arby looked to her world's Espio.

"Speak." He said. Nocturne glared fiercely as he commanded her.

" _Disgusting."_ She thought.

"I… don't think I am. No." She replied. Just hearing her voice made Espio want to cry right there and then. It was so familiar and warm despite the situation she was in, even if she was blinded. Rouge placed a hand on his shoulder and offered him a comforting smile. He forced a smile back, but she could see right through it.

"Is Espio telling the truth?" Charmy asked next.

"I don't understand why you feel the need to question him. He would never lie." Arby said with a smile. The other three couldn't believe what they had just heard.

"Arby, are you a fucking idiot?" Nocturne snapped.

"Nocturne, don't!" Rouge whispered, but it went unheard. Arby was staring at her whilst the other Espio had a sinister smirk.

"Can't you see what he's done?! Look at that city, _our_ city! Can you see those fires?! Can you see the destruction?! The only reason any of that is there is because of _him_! That piece of worthless shit stood next to you doesn't give a flying fuck about you! You could beg him for help and he would stand there and smile at you as you took your last breaths! Can't you fucking see any of this?!" Arby was still stood, staring blankly at Nocturne. She hadn't moved and no one could recall if she had blinked since Nocturne began talking. That was until…

"Make it quick." Espio whispered to her. An icy glare took over and her eyes glowed entirely white. Charmy had no idea what was going on and just stared with a confused expression.

"No you fucking don't!" Nocturne yelled as she began to fire, but it was just a moment later that she stopped. Rouge and Espio looked at her, wondering why. The chameleon in question shakily looked down, only to see a Chaos Spear piecing clean through her torso. She couldn't move out of shock and soon began coughing up blood.

"NOCTURNE!" Rouge cried out, catching her as she collapsed.

"You-You-" Espio tried to speak, but simply couldn't with his mind so clouded.

"What is it, chameleon?" The other one smirked at him.

"She does not belong to you." Espio told him with venom. "And one way or another, she _will_ see that."

"Watch me tremble." The other spoke with sarcasm. "Ship. Now." He ordered as Arby Chaos Controlled Espio and herself to their ship, leaving Charmy behind completely baffled.

"I'm getting her to base now!" Rouge spoke behind a wall of panic and despair. "I'm flying her there! You two catch up!" She then took off as quickly as she could with Nocturne in her arms. Espio simply fell to his knees upon the sand, picking up the shotgun that Nocturne had dropped. He stared aimlessly at it, not knowing what else to do.

"Espio." Charmy spoke firmly. "You've got thirty seconds to explain to me what the fuck is going on. Right now." The chameleon didn't move. He kept his back turned and his eyes on the shotgun.

"I've already explained this. We are in a different version of our own world. Did you not see that giant Chaos Control?" At this, Charmy suddenly remembered the bright light that overtook Vector and himself.

"That was a Chaos Control?!" He exclaimed angrily. "I thought we were going to fucking die!"

"You language has really sky dived since we last saw each other." Espio told him blankly.

"Oh? I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be such a fucking jerk in the middle of this shit!" He spoke with an annoying amount of sarcasm. "I have to find Vector!"

"How?" Espio asked before the insect teen could fly off.

"What do you mean? This city may be different, but the layout is the same." Charmy replied.

"Yes, but how would you find him? That Chaos Control could have sent him anywhere. He might not be in the city at all. Come to think of it, he may not even be in the same universe as us." Espio wasn't sure if he fully understood his own words, but the possibility was there. If Charmy and himself were sent to another universe, then anyone else caught in the blast would've been too, right? "It is probably some sort of miracle that we both ended up in the same universe." He concluded. The bee sat on the sand and allowed the chameleon's words to fully sink in.

"So, you're saying that anyone could be anywhere and that there is a high possibility that we'll never see _our_ friends again?" He questioned with a mix of sadness and fear.

"I… hadn't thought of that." Espio admitted. "I really don't know. M-maybe we should get back to base. I need to know if Nocturne's alright."

"Hold it." Charmy spoke. "How do I know that you're telling me the truth? How the heck do I know that I won't be killed the moment I get to this 'base'?" The ninja took a moment and stared at the bee.

"An understandable question, but an unnecessary one. I may have been gone for a long time, but I won't let anything happen to you." The teen's cold glare didn't subside as he softly nodded, following the chameleon as he led the way.

" _Don't think that this is a victory, chameleon. I don't forgive that easily."_ Charmy thought as he took off after the ninja.


	9. Nocturne it off!

**Heeeeeyyyy! ... Yeah, I know it's been way too long. I am more than aware of that and I have no excuse. I haven't been busy with anything and nothing came up that I would class as important. I'll just be blunt, I'm severely depressed and that has changed me. It stopped me from writing and got me to the point where the thought of doing anything made me want to cry. That's just how it was and still is. Yet somehow, I managed to finish this chapter after starting it months ago. I don't know how, but here it is!**

 **I'm not going to say that I'm back, because that would be a lie. But, I am trying. I hope at least some of you can understand.**

 **Anyway, here's Chapter 9! I hope you enjoy it and I'll hopefully see you soon!**

 **Arby xx**

 **P.S. This chapter gets real science-y, all about the multiverse and so on. I hope that doesn't bother you too much, but there is always Google if you wish to look any of it up.**

* * *

Despite several heart attacks from the locals, Espio and Charmy entered the underground hideout with no issues. Rouge was pacing back and forth outside of Nocturne's room. The chameleon felt bad while Charmy felt nothing at all. In his eyes, Nocturne was the one who killed his friend and that was not something to be forgiven regardless of what 'world' he was in.

She gave a small nod and a weak smile upon noticing the duo. Espio didn't hesitate as he approached her, while Charmy kept his distance. It made him very uncomfortable to see someone who he thought was dead.

"How is she?" The ninja asked.

"W-well, the Doc managed to stabilise her. It's not just the wound that has the Doc worried, but the burns that came with it." The bat told him. "It's just… not right to see her down like this. She's the strong one… not me." Rouge saddened at the thought, as did Espio.

"You're not alone. You still have the entire resistance." He reassured. "Nocturne will make it." Espio said firmly as if it were a guarantee.

"So, what about you? The other Espio now knows that you're here. Arby does too. That could put you in some serious danger." Espio appreciated the concern, but he knew she just wanted to think of something else. He couldn't blame her. He wasn't sure what he would do if it was Shadow in Nocturne's position.

"I will say that I did notice something odd." Espio began as he put a hand to his chin in thought. "When Arby was being yelled at, she didn't show any emotion at all until Espio gave the order to attack." Rouge tried to remember the same thing, but her mind was still a mess from the incident.

"Do you think that means anything?" She asked, choosing to believe him anyway.

"Perhaps this other Espio has more control over her than I first thought. She doesn't act on raw emotion anymore, _only_ on Espio's commands." He concluded. Charmy was listening to the conversation from the wall he was leaning on.

" _He's crazy."_ The bee thought. He didn't believe any of it. How could anyone have that kind of control over someone else? That simply wasn't possible, at least not in his mind.

"It does make me wonder though." Rouge continued. "What she was like before all of this, both her and Nocturne. I wonder how different or similar they were as opposed to now." She paused awkwardly. "Do you… think maybe she used to be a good person?" This caught Espio by surprise. The Arby he knew was always good, but he couldn't just say 'yes' since he didn't know this version of her. That didn't rule the possibility out though. She could easily have been good and maybe still is. Her flaw is the being that she puts her faith into: _him._

"I don't see why not." He answered briefly. It wasn't something he wanted to think about at this moment in time. Charmy burned a glare into the reptilian's back.

Suddenly, the door opened. Doctor Eggman's head poked out with a nervous expression.

"Good, you're here." He spoke directly to Espio, who gave a quick glance to Rouge.

"Uh, yes." Espio stated.

"Nocturne is awake… she would like to speak with you… alone." Eggman told him.

"May I ask why?" Espio questioned.

"She wouldn't say. Come along now." The Doctor moved from the doorway and into the corridor with the others. He gestured for Espio to go inside. "Be sure to shut the door behind you." He reminded. The chameleon nodded.

"I'll be back before you know it." He spoke to Rouge to give her a bit more comfort. She simply nodded at him before he disappeared inside.

* * *

His jaw fell the moment he laid eyes on her. Her red scales appeared to be somewhat darker, but her black scales were no longer black. They were nearly white.

"Chaos…" He whispered.

"It… looks worse than it is." She spoke weakly at the sight of his shocked expression. "Take a seat." Espio did as he was told and sat on a simple, wooden chair next to her bed. The leg creaked as his weight was put onto it.

"You wanted to see me?" He reminded her. She gently nodded.

"I don't know how to explain this, so I'll just straight up say it." She took several breaths before continuing. "I saw Nocturne."

…

" _What?"_ Espio thought with bewilderment.

" _Your_ Nocturne." She added.

"What?" He said aloud this time. "H-how? I don't understand."

"I don't understand it either. But I saw her. She was stood close enough for me to see her, but not close enough where I could reach out and touch her." She explained.

"It was probably just a dream." Espio suggested, but Nocturne was adamant.

"I get why you would say that, but I'm telling you, this was no dream. Well, it was in my head, yes, but it was real. We were in this vast expanse of nothingness. It was just me and her. She looked pretty beat up. All of her horns were cracked in some way, she had bruises and cuts all over her body, one of her eyes wasn't even there and she was gritting her teeth as if she was in pain." Espio wasn't sure what to make of everything she was telling him. He simply thought that it was a vivid hallucination from her injury somehow. However, one question needed to be asked.

"How do you know that the Nocturne you saw was the one from my world?"

"Well, I didn't, not at first anyway. Until she said one thing to me." She took a breath. "My sister is gone." Nocturne finished. The ninja felt chills run down his spine. That final sentence shook him to his core.

* * *

" _Nocturne knocked out the other two and then escaped through the portal over there." She pointed it out to Espio, who got up with haste._

" _Damn! We have to go after her!"_

" _No!" Arby said a bit too quickly, before calming. "We don't. You see… the-the portal malfunctioned as soon as she went through, meaning that she um…"_

" _Because of that, Nocturne is effectively trapped in the Void with no means of escape." Eggman finished for her._

* * *

"… Can I ask you something?" Espio questioned. The downed chameleon nodded. "Do you know what 'The Void' is?"

"I may be the leader here, but all that science stuff isn't my strong point. That's more of a question for the Doc. Why?" Nocturne asked in return.

"I remember the Eggman from my world mentioning it before he was killed." Espio told her.

"Well, don't let me hold you back. I want to see Rouge anyway." The reptilian said with a weak smile.

"I'll send her in." The ninja said before getting up and leaving.

* * *

Once back in the corridor, he noticed that no one had moved from their positions. It was unnerving him just a little bit.

"You can go in now, Rouge." He spoke kindly, allowing the bat inside and closing the door for her. "Eggman." The Doctor looked at the chameleon with a raised brow.

"Yes?"

"Have you ever heard of 'The Void' before?" The chameleon asked.

"Ah! I have!" He replied with mild excitement. "Come to my lab. We can all sit in there where it's a bit quieter." Espio nodded and looked to Charmy.

"I'm just gonna get to know the locals." The bee said before walking off, not bothering to look at Espio at all. He sighed before following after the Doctor.

* * *

"Make yourself comfortable." The Doctor gestured to an old couch in the corner of the lab. It was green and soft enough for you to sink right into it. Still, it was better than solid wood. "Now then…" Eggman continued as he brought over two cups of tea. "You wanted to know about the Void?" Espio nodded.

"Yes. It was briefly mentioned by the Eggman from my world and now it's come up again. I will go into details later, but for now, I need to know what it is." He explained. The Doctor listened as he drank the hot beverage before telling him what he had researched about it.

"Most of what I know is just theory at this point, but now that we have proof that the multiverse theory is accurate, it wouldn't surprise me if the Void was as well. You see, scientists believe that each universe is completely separate from one another. I personally like to picture a honeycomb, like in a beehive. Each hexagonal section, whilst part of the same hive, is still separated by a thin layer. Let's say that each section is a universe and the entire thing is the multiverse. The 'thin' layer separating them is what I believe to be the Void. It is an area of 'non-existence' that separates each universe." Espio took in every word, even if it wasn't the easiest thing to understand.

"Thank you, Doctor. I have another question." The ninja spoke.

"And that would be?" The Doctor always seemed to brighten up when being asked about science. It was… nice. It felt good to see Eggman as a human being rather than a psychotic doctor that everyone feared.

"Is there any way to get to it?" His question certainly took the Doctor by surprise.

"Well…" He began to think about it. "I'm honestly not sure. It is 'non-existence'. To get there would mean that you have to not exist, as obvious as that is."

"So, I would have to die?" Espio asked.

"You could, but there are no one knows if you will end up in the Void." The Doctor answered bluntly. "And to be quite honest, that risk is simply far too high."

"Ah, I see." But Espio wasn't done yet. "The reason I am asking all of this is because of what Nocturne told me." He paused and thought about how to summarise everything that he had heard. "While she was unconscious, she saw the Nocturne from my world. She was in a place of complete nothingness and was in bad shape. On my world, Nocturne went into a portal that the Doctor had built. However, it had malfunctioned whilst she was in it."

"Ah, I understand now." The Doctor spoke. "That is also another theory, but it does make sense. If that portal was taking her to another universe and something went wrong before she made it to the other side, then she would be in-between universes, thus, in the Void."

"So, she could very well be alive." Espio said aloud, more to himself than Eggman.

"It is strange how she could communicate with her using her dreams. I will have to talk to Nocturne further about that." The Doctor concluded.

"You and me both." Espio added.

* * *

 _Several Hours Later…_

* * *

Charmy was trying to relax and listen to the calm music of the hideout's live band. His mind however, wouldn't shut up enough to let him rest even a little bit. He just couldn't believe that he was in another world, yet he had seen the proof already. Nocturne was alive, Rouge was alive and apparently, Arby was alive too. He knew at least two of them were dead, but Nocturne he was never told about. Vector was unconscious at the time and Espio had kindly run off without a word. The bee never knew what happened to her.

He was brought from his thoughts when he saw the chameleon himself enter his peripheral vision. He wanted to ask where he'd been, but decided he didn't care and looked away from him.

"Charmy, we need to talk." The ninja began. Charmy turned his head back and glared at him.

"About what? The past ten years of your abrupt holiday? The fact that we aren't at home anymore despite the shit that's flooding from beneath the ground? Or maybe that we have no fucking idea where our friends are or if they're even alive?" Espio was silenced where he stood. The bee was still furious for his decade-long disappearance and now he had all this on top of it.

" _He doesn't deserve this."_ The chameleon thought as he stood there awkwardly.

"I know that forgiveness isn't an option here, but sitting here being angry is no good for either of us. Yes, we need to get back home, but we need to work together." Espio tried to reason with him.

"What do you need me for? You have Nocturne, even if she is in a bad state, and you have Rouge and let us not forget the entire underground! Me being here doesn't make the slightest bit of difference." He argued.

"If you're going sit around and mope then you're right." Espio added, definitely earning himself an icy glare from the teen.

"You know damn well that I have every reason to be mad!" He stood from his seat and yelled in his face, but Espio kept his calm and tried his best to ignore the sudden silence around them.

"Charmy, just calm down. You're making a scene." The chameleon spoke with irritation to his voice, but the teen didn't care. He wanted to make sure he got his point across and he was certainly going to do that.

"Oh? Am I making you uncomfortable? Allow me to remedy that!" Charmy used his wings to propel himself forward, charging head-first into the chameleon and knocking him a few feet away. He landed on his back and hissed at the sudden pain. Regardless, he got to his feet and glared back at the insect. The locals had already fled the room or hid behind the bar, daring to watch as the two fought.

"Charmy, don't push me." He growled. The bee simply laughed.

"Whoops! I already did!"

" _That is it!"_ Espio leapt into the air and threw shuriken stars in Charmy's direction. He was able to dodge with ease. The teen then picked up one of the stars and used it for his own defence. Espio pulled out a kunai for the same reason. He didn't want to hurt Charmy, just put him in his place.

The ninja then closed in and began to fight the bee with hand-to-hand combat. The insect did well to begin with, but he was no match for a master ninja and his reflexes. Espio was able to sweep his leg beneath him, causing the bee to crash onto his back. The chameleon was about to pin him until the teen thought quickly and used his free arms to grab a nearby chair and slam it hard into the reptilian's head.

Espio stumbled back and hissed in pain. He could feel something trickling from his head and down his eye. It didn't take a genius to realise what it was.

While he was distracted with his injury, Charmy used the opportunity to get back up and repeat the process. He picked up the chair from the ground and swung it into him again. Espio was easily on the ground, but Charmy kept going with his assault. A pool of blood soon began to form beneath him as he took each and every hit. The bee had lost control of himself. Tears were running down his face, but he couldn't seem to stop. People were too afraid to interfere in case the teen turned on them, but especially because they knew what his counterpart was capable of.

Thankfully however, help arrived and she was pissed.

Charmy was met with a hard kick to the stomach before being picked up and thrown into the nearest wall. He slid down it and landed hard on the floor before being picked up by the collar and pinned. The furious voice of Nocturne whispered deep into his ear.

"I am so sick of Charmy's bullshit in this world. Do NOT make me sick of you too." The chameleon threw him into the chair he was previously using, causing him and the chair to tip and fall backwards. He stared at the ceiling in shock while Nocturne fell to her knees because of her injury.

"G-get him to the med bay." She stuttered towards Espio, trying to ignore the pain. "A-and get him some fucking handcuffs." She finished before passing out entirely. Rouge wasted no time in getting her back to her room with Eggman following them.

"She's going to get herself killed if she keeps that up." He whispered to himself.


End file.
